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PS 2151 
.J63 G3 
1852 
Copy 1 



GALLANT TOM 



OR, 



) THE PERILS OF THE OCEAN. 



INTERESTING SEA-TALE. 



fuE AUTHOR OF "YANKEE JACK,"&o 



r 



NEW YORK: 
H. LONG & BROTHER, 

43 ANN-STREET. 



' IV Oup Tlions-vnd Eu^bt Ilundretl 

Court of the United States, for the bc.'uhua i^ismci 







?$ 



i,3 L? .. 



fef i LLANT TOM 



CHAPTER I. 



" It blew great guns when Gallant Tom 
Was taking in a sail, 
And squalls came on in sight of home, 
That strengthened to a gale." — Died in. 



The moon was shining brilliantly upon the ocean in the port of 
Plymouth, when a large party of hardy but jolly sons of Neptune 
were assembled on the pearly white beaches before a small public 
house, known by the sign of " The Old Commodore," and kept by a 
superannuated old tar, nicknamed Mat Marlinspike, whose family 
consisted of his wife, a motherly, comfortable-looking old dame, his 
daughter, and a handsome boy about twelve years of age, named 
Richard, and who was supposed to be the nephew of Mat, whom he 
had kindly taken under his protection on the death of his only sister, 
about seven years before. 

It was the evening before the sailing of the fleet, under the com- 
mand of the gallant Nelson, when they went to achieve the glorious 
victory of the battle of the Nile. The grog passed freely round, 
and so merry had every one become, that the time passed away 
unheeded, until one of the party rising said, 

"Come, messmates, it is growing late, and it is. time for us to 
weigh anchor ; so, three cheers for Admiral Nelson, and then 
away." 

The sailors changed their glasses, and drank the toast with an 
enthusiasm which made the place re-echo again. 

"So, my lads," said old Alat, coming forward, "you are home- 
ward bound, then ?" 

" Why, yes," answered the sailor who had first spoken, " yer see, 
Master Mat, we must pass a few short hours with sweethearts and 
wives, for to-morrow morning yon gallant fleet sets sail to join our 
noble commander in the Mediterranean, to bang the Mounseei-s, and 
mayhap many of us may be towed into the port of Eternity, and 
never see the fair craft again." 

" Right, right, my lads," observed Mat ; so good night, and may 
your dreams be of Nelson and victory." 

" I say, Mat," said another of the sailors, " where's Tom Main- 



4 GALLANT TOM. 

Stay, that he has not joined us to-night ? — for when the mess is 
abandoned by Gallant Tom, every thing seems as dull as tar without 
flip. He is a brave fellow, and as taut a sailor as ever reefed a top- 
sail." 

" Why, yer see, my lad," replied Mat, " Tom has been to town to 
buy some trinkums tinkums to leave his sweetheart in remembrance 
of him, or he would have been abroad with ye, depend upon it." 

" Aye, aye," returned the tar, " we must keep a weather eye on 
the fair craft, Mat. I say, what a happy lass your daughter ought 
to think herself, to have such a brave fellow as Tom Mainstay for a 
sweetheart. But, good night ; come, messmates." 

" Aye, aye," responded his companions, and tossing off the re- 
mainder of their grog, they departed to their homes, and the "Old 
Commodore " was silent and vacated. 

" Ah," said Mat, turning to his wife, "there goes as brave a set of 
lads as ever mounted the quarter-deck of a man-of-war. Splice my 
timbers, it does my old eyes good to see them. But I say, dame, 
you look as dull as a frigate in a fog." 

" In truth. Mat," said the old woman, sighing, " I am sad at heart. 
To-morrow morning, with yonder fleet our poor Richard will depart 
on his first voyage, and when I think of the perils he will be exposed 
to, my heart sinks within me ; for though he is not our own son, his 
fond endearments have rendered him the very soul and prop of our 
old days." 

"True, true, dame," said Mat, "Richard is a noble boy, and it 
grieves me to part with him ; but he possesses a gallant spirit, and 
longs to distinguish himself in the service of his king and country, 
and Heaven forbid that I should put the boy's«courage under hatches. 
Besides, will he not be under as brave a tar as ever furled a sail, 
our Ellen's sweetheart, Tom Mainstay ?" 

" But when he is gone," added the old woman, mournfully, " who 
will be left to cheer us in our old age, and to raise the drooping 
spirits of our daughter, in the absence of her lover ?" 

" Trust to Providence, dame," answered Mat, earnestly ; " but 
sit down, my old lass, I have something to tell you — something of 
importance — 'tis a secret." 

" A secret !" reiterated his wife, with much curiosity. . 

" Aye, aye," said Mat, " and one that I long wished to confide to 
you. But promise, dame, never to divulge what 1 am going to im- 
part to any one, for on it, probably, the very life of Richard 
depends." 

" Mat, I promise to obey you," returned the dame, earnestly. 

" Enough, then," said Mat, taking a seat on one of the benches by 
her side — " listen." 

Just at this moment, the tall figure of a mulatto stalked round the 
corner of the house, and observing Mat and his wife in earnest con- 
versation, he drew back, and seemed determined to listen. Why 
he should possess any curiosity to overhear what they were talking 
about, remains to be told. 

This man was called Saib, and was the confidential domestic of 



GALLANT TOM. & 

the Earl of Fitzosbert, who at that time resided in the vieighborhood 
of Plymouth. He was looked upon with an eye of suspicion and 
abhorrence by every one, for he was known to be savage and 
revengeful, and report was busy in attributing to him and his master 
many deeds of darkness, but of the truth of which no one had been 
at the pains of undertaking to ascertain. 

" You have ever thought, dame," continued Mat, addressing him- 
self to his wife, " that Richard was tke only child of my poor 
sister, who died about seven years ago, and left him to my care ; 
but it is not so — the boy is no relation of mine." 

'^ Amazement !" ejaculated Margaret. " Who, then, are bis 
parents ?" 

" Thi^ I do not know," answered Mat ; " but certain it is that the 
boycamfe from noble stock : hows'ever I found him a long way from 
hence/' 

" Fbund him !" reiterated Margaret, with increased astonishment. 
— " you surprise me. Mat." 

" I dare say I do," answered the husband ; " but I shall astonish 
you a great deal more before I have done with my story. You 
must know — but, hallo ! — what do you want?" 

" Massa Mat, good evening to you," said Saib, coming forward, 
when he found that the old man had discovered him. 

" Humph !" returned Mat, sulkily : — " oh, good evening to you. 
You are more free than welcome," he continued, aside. " I never 
look upon that fellow's face but he reminds me of the devil. If an 
artist wanted a correct likeness of his Satanic majesty, I don't 
think he could do better than get Saib to sit to him." 

" Let me have a glass of grog, Massa Mat," said Saib, taking a 
seat. Mat made his exit into the house, beckoning his wife to fol- 
low him, and when they had gone, Saib reflected for a second or 
two. and then clenching his fist, soliloquized : 

" My suspicions are all but confirmed, this brat is not the relation 
of Marlinspike, and his striking likeness to the late earl, almost con- 
vinces me that in him exists the young heir to the estates of Fitz- 
osbert. Mat said he found him far at sea : — it must be so : — curses 
on the billows that did not overwhelm him in the wreck ! Fool 
that I was to trust him to the ocean ! Why did I not plunge my 
knife into their hearts, when (hey were in my power. It will be a 
fine tale to tell my master. But no matter, it may be better ; this 
night I am resolved, shall place the boy in my clutches, and if the 
earl accedes to my wishes, he dies! Yes, the hand of Julia and her 
wealth must be my reward for the business. Ha! ha! ha! She 
calls me black dog. She shall find that the dog can bite." 

" Here's your grog," said jMat, returning from the house. 

" And here's your money," answered Saib, vexed at being inter- 
rupted in the train of his thoughts ; "and now you can begone." 

"Oh, to be sure. Master Japan," returned Mat, sarcastically, 
" I'm not fond of looking on the likeness of " 

"Of what?" angrily demanded Saib. 

" The devil, to be sure," answered Mat, with a laugh, as he retired 
into the house. 



^ GALLANT TOM. 

" The Christian dog," cried Saib, as he vanished ; " but no mat- 
ter; they shall find the black man as true a devil in heart as he is 
like him in visage." 

At this moment the voice of a boy singing at no great distance 
sounded in his ears, and soon afterwards a boat approached the 
shore, containing Richard. Saib recognized him in a minute. 

" Here's the brat they have been speaking of," said he. " What 
a fool I must be not to know him befoi-e, for he is as like the late 
earl as ever child was like the parent. He comes : — now if the old 
man and his guest will only keep snug to the house for a few minutes, 
I'll spoil your singing, my boy." 

Richard having stepped from the boat, bounded gaily towards 
the house, when he suddenly recognised Saib and started back. 

" Oh !" said the boy to himself, " there is that frightful black man, 
the servant and confident of the Earl Fitzosbert. I don't know how 
it is, but whenever 1 look upon his sable countenance, my -heart 
sinks with horror. I'll run into the house, and meet my good uncle 
and aunt, and my coz, Ellen." 

" Stop, boy," cried Saib, as he attempted to enter at the door- 
way ; " why do you pass me as though I were something conta- 
gious ?" 

" I am in a hurry, good Saib, and — " 

" Good Saib," laughed the black, sarcastically. " Ha ! ha ! ha ! 
But, no matter, — drink, boy, drink." 

" Excuse me, Saib," said Richard : " I am too young to drink; 
I— _" 

" Oh, you'll not drink with me, I suppose," interrupted the other, 
scowling, " because I am a black man." 

"No, Saib," replied the boy, firmly, " Yo u wrong me; Heaven 
forbid that I should be so ungenerous as to despise a fellow creature 
only for the color of his skin. I ivill drink, just to prove to you how 
mistaken you was in forming such a supposition." And he took the 
glass from the hand of Saib, 

" Here's to all gallant tars !" 

" Would it were poison," Saib muttered to himself. 

" And now, Saib," said the boy, " I must be going, so good night." 

" Hold, boy," cried Saib, suddenly starting upon his feet, and 
grasping his arm, "you must come with me." 

" Spare me, Saib ; don't hurt me ; I never injured you !" exclaimed 
the terrified Richard, as the black attempted to drag him away ; 
" what mean you by this violence ?" 

" Ask no questions, brat," fiercely cried Saib ; " come, come." 

" Savage man, unhand me !" ejaculated Richard, struggling hard 
to escape from his hold ; "you must have some cruel design against 
me, for what reason I know not. I will alarm the inn !" 

"Boy," observed Saib, his eyes roiling savagely, at the same time 
drawing a knife from his vest, " utter a word that may be heard but 
a yard off, and I'll murder you on the spot." 

But in spite of this threat, Richard shrieked with all his naight, 
and a* that moment a hearty voice was heard outside, shouting— 



GALLANT TOM. 



•* Hilly yeo! hilly yeo !"' and just as Saib was dragging him away, 
in rushed Tom Mainstay, and clutching the throat of the black with 
the strength of a lion, dashed him to the earth, at the same time 
wresting the knife from him, and holding the boy under his pro- 
tection. 

" Why, you black pirate," cried the sailor, "damme, if I hav'n't 
a good mind to lower your topsails in less time than a boatswain 
could pipe all hands ! Sheer ofl', yer swab, or may I never taste 
salt junk again, but I'll send you to old Davy like a shot !" 

As Tom Mainstay stood over the black ruffian, and thus taunted 
him, the eyes of the latter rolled fiercely in their sockets, and. he was 
almost choked with rage. 

" Tom Mainstay," exclaimed he, gathering himself on his feet, 
" the black man never receives an insult without having a deadly 
revenge. Beware, when next we meet." 

Thus saying, Saib skulked away, and the sailor laughed at him 
contemptuously. "Ha! ha! ha!" said be, "boldly spoken, my sable 
land-lubber ; but Tom Mainstay has weathered many a rough tem- 
pest at sea, and it would be strange indeed if he was now to be 
frightened by a storm in a puddle on shore. Why, Dick, you seem 
alarmed." 

" Alarmed !" answered the boy, proudly ; " oh, no, Tom, you mis- 
take me, I am only a little ruffled, for you know I am to be a sailor, 
and I should not have liked to have been deprived of the opportunity 
I expect to have, of helping to drub the foes of my king and 
country." 

" Splice my timbers !" cried Tom, shaking the boy's hand heartily, 
" a sailor already, every inch of him. But weigh anchor, and steer 
into the forecabin, for you see, here comes my pretty Ellen, bless 
her blue twinklers." 

Richard obeyed this order, and left Tom to talk to his sweetheart. 
Ellen was considered the flower of Plymouth. Her features wei-e 
regular, and bewitchingly handsome ; her eyes were a brilliant blue, 
her figure was perfect, and she had the prettiest little foot, and the 
most graciously turned ankle, that could possibly be imagined. — To 
Tom she was fondly, devoutly attached, and the thoughts of being 
so soon separated from him, and the uncertainty of ever beholding 
him again, wrung her gentle heart, and clad her face in looks of the 
deepest sorrow. 

" Now, my pretty Ellen," said Tom, affectionately throwing one 
arm around the damsel's waist, and pressing her hand fervently, 
•* tell me why you will persist in hoisting signals of distress ?" 

" Ah, Tom," replied Ellen, " how can I be otherwise than sorrow- 
ful ? Are you not going to leave me to-morrow, to be exposed to 
all the terrors of a dreadful conflict, and should you perish — " 
She hid her face in her bosom, weeping, and could not finish th« 
sentence. 

" Come, come, my lass," said Tom', soothingly, " you must not 
founder in the ocean of despair. 1 have weathered many a hard 
fight and a rough gale hitherto, and we must trust to Providence to 
protect me through this." 



O GALLANT TOM. 

"Oh, Tom," observed Ellen, " I dare not think of it." 

"Now shiver my timbers !" ejaculated her lover, "if you put your 
pumps to work, you'll set my heart going at the rate of forty knots 
an hour. As our chaplain says when he is about to swallow a good 
jorum of rum, — ' Damn fear, always keep up your spirits.' Come, 
lass, gire us a kiss ! — Lor' love your pretty face. Yer know this 
is to be my last cruise, Ellen ; and after I have assisted in banging 
the .Mounseers, I shall return home with lots of prize money, a 
whole cargo of love, get spliced to you, embark on the ocean of 
matrimony, and in a short time, mayhap, become the commander of 
a fleet of my own." 

" What mean you, Tom ?" inquired Ellen, timidly. 

" What do I mean, lass," answered her lover, " why, the pretty 
small craft that we shall have, to be sure." A-nd once more kissing 
the blushing cheek of the maiden affectionately, he stepped with her 
into the house, where Mat and his wife were engaged in earnest con- 
versation upon the late outrage committed by Saib, and in vain 
endeavoring to conjecture what motive could have incited him to it. 

The Earl P'itzosbert had a handsome mansion near the house of 
Mat Marlinspike. He was a proud, haughty, and tyrannical noble- 
man, with a forbidding countenance, and one who was universally 
hated. He was immensely rich ; but there were strange rumors 
afloat as to the manner in which he obtained his wealth, which, if 
tliey were true, would make the earl a villain indeed. He had a 
ward named Rosina, a beauteous girl,' of the most amiable mannei-s 
and disposition, and she was greatly pitied, for it was well known 
that she suffered much from the capricious and tyrannical disposi- 
tion of her guardian, and the insolence of the black man, Saib, 
who exercised authority over his master, and knew all his secrets. 

A deep melancholy always seemed to absorb the feelings of 
Rosina, from which it was in vain to attempt to arouse her ; it was 
evident that her mind was suffering from some secret grief; but no 
one could imagine what it was, for she carefully evaded every ques- 
tion on the subject. 

" Why do you give way to these fits of sadness. Miss ?" observed 
Patty, her maid, on the day upon which We commenced this narrar 
tive. (Patty was a great favorite with Rosina, and she confided to 
her breast many secrets.) " To be sure," continued Patty, " the 
earl does not behave kind to you." 

" The earl !" reiterated Rosina, " oh mention him not ; his very 
name is odious to me. Oh, my poor father, little did you think 
when you committed me to the care of that man, to what misery 
you was consigning me. Patty, I am wretched ; even that hideous 
wretch, Saib, who is the confident of the earl, has presumed to 
insult me with his odious passion, and the earl appears to encourage 
him. But this is not all that oppresses me." 

" Dear me. Miss," observed the waiting maid, " why, any one 
would imagine you were in love !" 

Rosina sighed, blushed, and hid her face for a moment in her 
handkerchief. " Alas ! there it is, Patty," she replied, " I do indeed 
'/>ve one who can never be mine !" 



GALLANT TOM. U 

- " What, won't he marry you, Miss ?" said Patty ; " then I am 
sure he shows his want of taste, and does not pay his compliment 
to your charms and accomplishments." 

" Listen, Patty," remarked Rosina, seriously, " and divulge not 
what I am about to tell you. He, who holds my heart, knows not 
of the jvassion he has inspired. He is betrothed to another, a woithy 
girl, and deeply do I repent the injury I am doing her, by encourag- 
ing an aflection for him to whom her very soul is devoted. But 
alas ! I cannot stifle my feelings." 

" You surprise me, Miss !" ejaculated Patty ; " but may I ask 
who is the youth that has thus taken possession of your heart ?" 

" You remember the night, Patty," answered her mistress, " when 
our boat upset at some distance from the shore, and I was immersed 
in the rapid tide, and was near being drowned — at that critical 
moment, a sailor plunged fearlessly into the deep, and at the immi- 
nent peril of his own life, brought me to shore ?" 

" Ah," remarked Patty, " well do I remember that. Miss ; it 
was gallant Tom, as he is called, one of the bravest seamen in the 
fleet." 

" He is, indeed," said Rosina, eagerly, and her blue eyes spark- 
ling with pleasure at the thought : " from that moment, Patty, I have 
loved him." 

" Lor' bless me," exclaimed the maid, " how you surprise me. 
What, love a common sailor ?" 

" Accursed forever be the wretch," cried Rosina, warmly, " who 
would despise honest poverty enshrined beneath a sailor's jacket. 
Oh, Patty, little can you imagine the feelings I bear toward that 
noble youth ; something more powerful than love seems to endear 
him to me ; his strange likeness to a brother whom I lost in child- 
hood is so great, that in spite of everything I cannot erase him from 
my thoughts. Mine has been a strange life. As soon as I can 
remember, I found myself, with an only brother, the inmate of a 
fisherman's hut some miles hence. We thought he was our father, 
although the cruelty with which he treated us, made us fear, if not 
hate him. My poor brother, who was then three years older 
than me, loved me fondly, and his chief delight was to wander 
to the sea-beach, to gather the pretty shells and pebbles to amuse 
me. One evening he went there alone, afe usual ; night set in — the 
next morning broke, but my poor brother never returned, nor have 
I since been able to learn what become of him." 

" Poor fellow," exclaimed Patty. 

" A short time afterwards," resumed her mistress, after a pause, 
" our real father, who was rich and noble, came to claim us. His 
motive for so long neglecting and disowning his children, I never 
knew. He was wretched at the mysterious disappearance of his 
son ; but though he tried every means, and offered large rewards, 
he never could gain any tidings of him.. He died three years since, 
and made his friend, the Earl Fitzosbert, my guardian." 

" What a melancholy story ; and you say that Gallant Tom is so 
like your poor lost brother, Miss?" 



10 GALLANT TOM. 

" The very image of him ; and did I not know it was impossible, ' 
could fancy it was hirn. He haunts my imagination, sleeping oi 
waking. Patty, I cannot live but in his presence." 

" Oh, Miss, pardon me, but I must say you talk very silly," ob- ' 
served Patty ; " why, to-morrow morning you know '^om sets saU 
with the noble fleet,, now lying at anchor in the port." * 

' And thither will I follow him," suddenly exclaimed Rosina. 

"Impossible!" 

" You may deem me romantic, Patty," returned the lady, " but 1 
a^n resolved ; I can no longer endure the tyranny of the earl, and 
the insolence of Saib ; so I have determined to assume the male at- 
tire, and get on board the same ship in which Tom is to sail. I have 
ascertained that there will be no great difficulty, as her number is 
not complete. Then, and then only will I venture to avow my love 
for him, and throw myself and fortune at his feet. Patty, you'll not 
betray me ?" 

" Betray you Miss ? — lor' bless you, not for the world. But this 
is indeed a romantic idea — a female sailor ! — but, dear me, have you 
well considered the perils of the undertaking? You know they are 
going to fight, and suppose you should be killed ?" 

" 1 have considered everything, Patty," replied the lady, " and 1 
am ready to encounter every danger. I secured everything neces- 
sary for my design, and this night, as soon as the family are at rest, 
1 bid adieu to this hateful house for ever." 

" Heigho !" sighed Patty ; " and so you mean to leave me all 
alone, Miss ?" 

" What other alternative have I ?" answered her mistress. 

" Why, I'll tell you," observed Patty, smiling archly; "I have got 
a sweetheart, you know, Miss, and a nice little man he is, too, only 
not very brave. Toby Twitter, Miss, and he's going on board the 
same ship as Gallant Tom is, to-morrow ; so I have been thinking, 
if you have no objection, I should dearly like to put on male attire, 
also, and accompany you in this adventure, if it is only to watch the 
cojaduct of my poor Toby." 

" I shall be delighted with your company, Patty," said her mis- 
tress, joyfully. 

" Then it's a bargain," ejaculated the maid. " From this moment 
consider me a sailor. Huzza! the blue jackets forever ! Oh, Miss, 
shari't I make a jolly Jack tar ?" 

" Hark !" said Rosina, putting her finger on her lip, " I heai 
the voice of the Earl and Saib ; they are approaching this way. 
Let us begone, Patty, and make preparation for our perilous ad- 
venture." 

" Oh, yes, Miss," said Patty, " come along, for I am all impatience 
to put on the breeches. They do say that our sex have a peculiar 
penchant for those little unwhisperables." 

"Saib," exclaimed the Earl Fitzosbert, to his sable myrmidon, a* 
they entered the room, having looked cautiously around, to ascertain 
that nobody was observing them, " this tale you have told me of the 
brat being still alive, perplexes me." 



GAM.ANT TOM. ft 

" Why should it alarm you, my lord ?" returned the black, 
" have I'not said that I have the means of ridding you of him this 
very night ?" 
' " But should you again fail ?" 

" Psha ! the black man's knife seldom misses his aim. You know 
its power now, my lord ; the proud estates of Fitzosbert came not 
into your possession without — " 

'•1 know, I know!" — hastily interrupted the Earl; "but should 
this hated boy be suffered still to survive, in time all may be discov- 
ered, and my dearly-earned power wrested from me, and ignominy 
and disgrace may light upon me." 

" I have offered you the means to rid you of your fears," answered 
Saib ; " will you accept them ?" 

" The ternis are high," said Fitzosbert, " the hand and fortune o| 
my fair ward, Rosina — " 

" Must be mine," rejoined his companion. " Swear that, and my 
dagger shall be washed in the heart's blood of the young heir of 
Fitzosbert this very night." 

The Earl paused, and traversed the room for a few moments 
buried in rumination, then suddenly returning to his confident, he 
said : 

" I will agree." 

" Enough, then," cried the black, his large eyes rolling with grati- 
fication ; " this instant I fly to execute the crime." 

" Thanks, thanks, my good Saib," replied his master, " and when 
next we meet, the heir of Fitzosbert — " 

" Will be no more," added the black, hollowly, as he hastened 
from the apartment, and left the Earl to retire to his chamber. 

Three o'clock had chimed from a neighboring church clock, how- 
ever, before the villain Saib started on his deed of darkness. He 
had ascertained that Richard slept in a room on the ground floor, 
and he had provided himself with proper implements to force the 
shutters so that he might gam access to his destined victim. All 
was still around when Saib arrived at the little tavern. Every one 
had retired to rest, and the moment seemed propitious to his pur- 
pose. He walked round to the back of the house, and easily scaled 
the paling with which it was surrounded. He walked up to the 
window of the back parlor, the room in which the boy slept, and 
listened : he could hear the strong breathing of the unconscious 
sleeper, and was convinced that everything favored his purpose. 

'• All's right ; that sleep shall be changed into an eternal one," 
ejaculated Uie wretch, as he applied the implements he had brought 
with him for the purpose, and forced the shutters open with very 
little noise. He looked into the room, and beheld the boy reclining, 
dressed upon the bed, and no other person was in the chamber. 
Cautiously the villain opened the window, and the next moment was 
standing over the couch of the sleeping boy, with the knife in his 
hand, ready to perpetrate the hellish deed. 

" I have succeeded famously," he muttered to himself. " All is 
still ; no person will hear his dying groans, and I may escape unper- 



12 GALLANT TOM. 

seived and unsuspected. Now for the deed ! Die! die! d — d off- 
spring of a Christian dog." 

Instantly he was about to draw his knife across the throat of the 
boy, when, suddenly, his arm was fiercely seized. He looked up, ' 
and beheld Tom Mainstay standing before him, with a pistol pre- 
sented at his head, and attended by several more sailors. 

" Hold, you black shark !" exclaimed the gallant sailor, or "damme, 
I'll send a bullet through your mizen-top." 

At this critical moment, the noise awoke the boy, who started 
from his bed in astonishment and alarm, while at the same juncture 
Mat and his wife entered the room in a state of consternation, which 
was not a little increased in the spectacle that presented itself. 

" For heaven's sake, what is the meaning of this ?" inquired the 
old man and his wife, in the same breath. 

" The meaning, Master Mat," answered Tom,—" why, I'll tell 
YOU : I had occasion to steer past the mansion of the Earl Fitzos- 
Dert, in company with my messmates, when we saw this black lub- 
ber cruising about suspiciously on the coast; so we gave chase to 
him on the sly, and watched him here, where he was about to ky 
his grappling irons on young Dick, but we were lucky enough to 
prevent him. 

" Villain," ejaculated Mat, " what is your design ?" 

" His life," answered Saib, his eye flashing with fury. 

" Why, you damned pirate," said Tom, " say another word like 
that, and I'll send a brace of bullets through your brains. I say, 
messmates, what will we do with him ?" 

" Why, I'll tell you what, Tom," replied one of his companions, 
" to prevent him from doing any more mischief, suppose we take him 
on board ship, where a shot from the enemy, or the cat, will soon teach 
him to behave himself." u 

" Well said," agreed Tom Mainstay ; "bind the lubber, and aboard 
with him." 

The black tried hard to escape, and he foamed at the mouth with 
rage ; but his efforts were all useless ; a strong cord was procured, 
and the sailors, having secured his arms, proceeded to drag him out 
of the house. 

" Tom Mainstay," cried the infuriated wretch, fixing upon the 
sailor a look that was truly demoniacal, " for this, the curse, the 
bitter curses, of the black man be upon your head ! — Revenge ! 
Revenge !" 

" Away with him," said Tom, laughing scornfully at his threats. 
" Well," he continued, " we have disposed of that black rascal pretty 
well, I think ; and now, Mat, you must bestir yourself, for day begins 
to peep, and already the sailors are steering down here to get the 
grog abroad before they bid adieu to old England for some time. 
Come along, I go to join my messmates outside the house. Ship 
a-hoy, there !" 

Early as it was, the sailors began to bustle to the little hostelrie ; 
and when Tom went outside, he found a good company assembled 
on the seats, and who were as merry as if they were going to a wed- 
ding, instead of upon an enterprise attended with so much danger. 



GALLANT TOM. 13 

" Good cheer, my lads," said Gallant Tom, when he joined them ; 
■" the morning has at length dawned when we are to bid adieu to 
England for a while, in search of glory ; so come, boys, pitch the 
blue devils overboard, and let's have a good jorum of grog at part- 
ing. Mat, you are steward of the mess, my old boy, so weigh 
anchor and bring the flip." 

Mat did not require to be told a second time, but hastened into 
the house to obey the order ; in the meantime, the men who had had 
charge of Saib, rejoined their companions. 

" Well, Tom," observed one of them, " we have towed the black 
hulk on board, and he's safe enough. The lubber does not seem to 
relish salt water." 

" Well done, my lads," said Tom, approvingly ; " I'll warrant we 
.shall soon tame him. But here's the flip, so fill your glasses, bumpers 
all, and I'll give you a toast : — 

" ' Here's may all foul cruisers split upon the rock of despair, and 
founder in the ocean of oblivion.' " 

The sailors drank the toast with the greatest enthusiasm, and by 
that time the sweethearts and wives of several present made 
their appearance, and the scene became one of the most animated 
description. 

" Here are the fair craft," said Tom Mainstay, as the females made 
their appearance ; " bless their pretty faces, they look more beauti- 
ful than ever, although they are overcast with ihe clouds of sorrow 
at the thoughts of being parted from their sweethearts. Come, mess- 
mates, yard-arm and yard-arm with the lasses, and then once more 
for mirth !" 

There was a general kissing and embracing of the females at this 
hint, and then they all seated themselves at the tables to take a 
parting glass. 

" Ah, that is what I like to see," observed Gallant Tom ; " there's 
nothing gives such pleasure to the sailor's heart as to have the 
petticoats abroad. I wonder where my little Ellen is ; I suppose 
she hasn't got out of her hammock yet."^ Ah ! here she comes 1" 

At that moment Ellen came from the house and approached her 
lover. Her face was overcast with gloom, and tears escaped her 
eyes, as Tom aflectionately took her hand. 
' " My pretty Ellen," exclaimed the sailor, " how it glads me to see 
you, — but splice my topsails, you will persist in hoisting these con- 
founded signals of distress. Why, any one would think I was going 
to a funeral instead of on a voyage of pleasure." 

" Pleasure, Tom," returned Ellen ; " oh, can you call the horror<» 
of war by so gentle a name !" 

" Why, look you. my lass," replied Tom ; " there cannot be a 
greater pleasure in the world to a true tar than fighting. The roar 
of the cannon is music to his ears, to which he never fails to make 
the enemies of his country dance ngain^ their will, and Death is the 
only master of the ceremonies, who sometimes takes it into his head 
to ship a few of the actors in the ball on board his craft. Come, 
come, don't give way to despair, my girl." 



14 GALLANT TOM. 

" Bravo !" shouted one of the sailors, " Gallant Tom's the lad for 



getting the weather-gage of care. Come, pretty lass, stow yourself 
alongside of yer sweetheart, and be happy." 

" To be sure she will," said Tom, again kissing her. " Messmates, 
I must give you another toast, and I know it is one in which you 
will all join : ' Here's to the sailor's home, the bosom of the girl he 
loves !' " * 

" Hurrah !" shouted his companions. " The sailor's home I" 

" Messmates," observed Tom, as Richard approached him, " this 
is my pro-pro-protogee, don't they call it ? Yer see, I am not much 
used to the land lubber's palaver ; and if the young dog disgraces 
his master, damme, I'll throw him overboard as food for the sharks!" 

" Ship a-hoy !" shouted two or three voices outside, and Tom 
looking towards the road which led up to the house, said : 

*' Hallo ! what's in the wind ? Oh, it's Dick Clewline coming this 
way, and towing two of the most dainty looking craft along with 
him that ever I seed." 

The dainty looking craft to whom Tom so pointedly alluded, were 
Rosina and her maid, Patty, in male attire, who, having left the 
house of Earl Fitzosbert as soon as they imagined all the family had 
retired to rest, had fallen in with Dick Clewline, who offered to get 
them an opportunity of entering on board the same vessel as 
Gallant Tom, if they would place themselves under his care. 

" Here you are, m^ lads," said Dick, when they had got to the 
house, " safe in port ; Gallant Tom, there, will give you all the 
information you want." 

" He is there," said Rosina in a whisper to her attendant, " and 
my unsuspected rival, too; oh, how my heart throbs!" 

"Courage, my dear lady," replied Patty, in the same low tone; 
" courage, or you will betray us ; 1 will speak to him ; be you 
silent." 

" What cheer, youngsters ?" said Tom, " would you speak to 
me ?" 

" We would," replied Patty, in an assumed tone, " you belong to 
the Vanguard ?" 

" I do, and a gallant vessel she is, too," said Tom. 

" We are two friendless lads," continued Patty, " who would fain 
serve their king and country." 

" Whewgh !" whistled Tom, hitching up the waistband of his 
trowsers ; " here's jolly tars — place them in petticoats, and they'd 
make two ^pxcellent lady's n)aids. Why, my lads, have you con- 
sidered the danger of the enterprise ? It's no use to fear when — " 

" Fear, sir !" interrupted Patty, indignantly, " we are Englishmen, 
and never learn that word at school." 

" Well said, youngsters," exclaimed Tom, " damme, he's got some 
mettle in him, though ; give us your fin." 

" Wh-wh-what, sir ?" 

" Wh-wh-what ! oh, I forgot ; you don't understand the king's 
English, yet. Give me your hand." 

" Ah, to be sure I will," said Pattv, extending her hand, which 



GALLANT TOM. \6 

Tom gave such a hearty pull, that he almost made the tears start 
into hor eyes. 

" What a hand for a sailor," observed Tom ; " as soft as a kid 
glove. But I say, my lad, you'll splice the main brace, won't you?" 

" Splice ! splice !" stammered out the bewildered female. 

" Oh, you don't know our nautical lingo, yet," replied Tom, 
" Drink, my lad, that's what 1 mean." 

" To be sure," said Patty, taking the glass with much apparent 
glee. " Here's Admiral Nelson, the hero of the seas." 

"Bravo! bravo!" shouted the sailors, drinking the toast. 

" Won't yer companion drink ?" asked Tom. pointing to RosinSi. 

" No, no, thank you," hastily returned Patty, with much confusion, 
« he—" 

" Oh, perhaps he prefers pig-tail ? Messmate, will you take a 
quid ?" enquired Tom, handing the box to the bewildered maiden, 
who stammered out some sort of an excuse. 

Patty then inquired whether they could not see the captain 
directly, and Tom having commissioned Dick Clewline to escort 
them to him, they departed. Shortly after this a signal gun was 
fired to summon the seamen on board, and the scene which then took 
place was one of the most pathetic description. The young men 
hugged their sweethearts to their bosoms with the most fervent af- 
fection, and many a manly cheek was damped with tears, as he 
stole a parting embrace of his wife and children. 

" Now, my" pretty Ellen," said Tom, turning to his sweetheart, 
" the lime's come ; we must part for awhile, lass ; but, but damme, 
I'm not crying, no, no, Ellen." 

" Oh, Tom," sobbed Ellen, '' my heart sinks : I fear we shall meet 
no more." 

" Avast ! avast ! my poor girl," returned her sweetheart, " we 
shall meet again, depend upon it. Ellen, this handkerchief is ons 
that I have had ever since I was a little boy, no higher than half a 
handspike ; when I am away, look on it, and do not forget your poor 
Tom." 

Ellen pressed the handkerchief to her lips, and her tears flowed 
fast as she replied : 

" This locket contains a miniature likeness of myself, will you wear 
it next your heart for my sake ?" 

" I wHl, I will," cried Tom in a broken tone ; " and in the battle's 
heat, with that dear relic next my heart, defy the deadly ball that 
else may leave me low. But I must begone ; see, the boat awaits, 
— Ellen! farewell! bless you ! bless you!" 

Tom pressed his lover to his heart, and kissed away the tears that 
flowed fast from her eyes. The poor girl's feelings overcame her, 
and ere the signal guns had been fired for the sailors to go on board, 
she fainted in his arms ; and with one look of indescribable emotion, 
the brave fellow resigned her to the care' of her parents, and pressed 
their hands, unable to utter a word, and beckoning to Richard, hur- 
ried away. 

Bitter was the anguish felt by Mat Marlinspike, his wife and 



1*8 ' GALLANT TOM. 

daughter, for many days after the departure of Gallant Tom and 
their adopted son, Richard. The poor old dame, who loved the 
latter with as much alfection as if he had been her own son, was 
with difficulty reconciled at all ; and her husband, who could not 
bear to witness her anguish, almost regretted having yielded to the 
predilection which the boy had for a nautical life. 

" I cannot think upon the circumstances of that wretch, Saib, 
attempting the life of Richard," observed Mat's wife, an evening or 
two after the departure of the fleet ; " what motive could induce 
him to commit such a crime ? and in what way could the boy have 
injured him ?" 

" Aye, aye, dame," observed Mat, " as you say, the conduct of 
that black swab was rather unaccountable ; but, depend upon it, he 
did not act without the instruction of some superior power." 

" What ?" ejaculated his wife, with astonishment depicted on her 
countenance ; " do you mean to insinuate that — " 

^'Be cautious, dame," interrupted her husband, in a low tone, 
" for we might have listeners. What I meant to insinuate is, that 
the Earl Fitzosbert is one of the verriest scoundrels in existence, 
and—" 

" That Saib acted only by his instructions," added his wife ; " is 
that what you mean ?" 

"It is." 

" But why should he seek the life of the boy ?" demanded the old 
woman. 

" I know not," replied Mat, " only the fact of the matter is, that in 
my opinion Richard is no menial's offspring, and that the rascally 
black, and his equally rascally master, have discovered, by some means 
or other, his true origin, and for certain reasons best known to them- 
selves, may have a wish to get rid of him." 

"Goodness me !" exclaimed the old woman, "what ever could 
have put such an idea into your head ?" 

" Hark you, dame," replied Mat, " I have before told you that the 
boy is no relation of mine, although till lately you supposed he was 
the son of my only, my favorite sister, who died some time since. 
As we are now alone, I will, upon your promise of secresy. You 
will recollect that about thirteen years since, after returning from a 
long cruise, I had occasion to visit my sister, who at that time 
resided at the Isle of Wight ?" , 

" I recollect it perfectly well, Mat," answered his wife, " and I do 
not forget also, that I ielt myself, at that time, rather offended at 
your remaining there so long." 

" True," said Mat ; " and I don't wonder that you did, dame ; bul 
you shall now, for the first time, hear the cause of it. You see, my 
sister lived near the coast, in a neat little cottage which she inherited 
from her late husband, who had saved a little money in the service 
of his country, and left her enough, with care, to live very comfort- 
ably. Well, one night, you must know, when the wind blew, and 
the rain pattered sharply against the casements of the cottage, I was 
seated in the parlor, smoking my pipe, and joking with my sister, to 



GALLANT TOM. IT 

Keep up her spirits in the midst of the storm, when, suddenly, between 
the pauses of the blast, I thouj;ht I heard the cries of some person, 
as if in distress, outside. I listened, but all was again still, and I 
concluded that I had been deceived by the wind moaning among 
the clilVs, near which the cottage stood. But presently the sounds 
again broke more distinctly on my ears, and my sister became veiy 
much alarmed ; for, you must know, that like many others of her 
sex, she could not lay claim to being over and above courageous. I 
started from my seat, and looked out of the casement, but the night 
was as dark as a funeral pall, and I could not see anything before 
me ; but once more the low moans of some person vibrated on my 
ears. Determined to ascertain from whence they proceeded, I 
placed a light in a lantern that was upon the table, and laying hold 
of a stout cudgel, in case of danger, for there were some queerish 
characters, I knew at that time, in the neighborhood, I started forth 
to reconnoitre. I had scarcely got over the threshold of the door, 
when I stumbled over some object lying upon the ground, and hold- 
ing down the lantern, what was my astonishment to behold stretched 
upon the earth the body of a man, bleeding profusely from a wound 
in the side, and apparently in the agonies of death, while nestling 
near him was an infant, who had evidently been roughly used, and 
was at that time quite insensible. I called to Margaret, and with 
her assistance, bore them into the cottage, and afterwards alarmed 
the neighbors, and procured the assistance of a doctor. The poor 
gentleman, however, never spoke, and in a short time after the ar- 
rival of the medical man, he breathed his last. The child was 
restored — that child is our little Richard !" 

"Astonishing!" cried the dame; "but was it not discovered 
who the gentleman was, and who had been so guilty of the dreadful 
crime ?" 

" Never, dame, never," replied her husband ; " every inquiry was 
made, but all to no purpose. A coroner's inquest was held upon the 
body, and they returned a verdict of 'wilful murder' against some 
person or persons unknown. He was a handsome, noble looking 
man, and his linen was marked with the initials ' A. F.,' but 
that was the only clue given to who he was. It was a foul 
deed, and certain it is that some day or other, the base assassins 
will be discovered and brought to justice, and our ;>or/e^e restored 
to those rights I feel convinced some other person at present 
withholds from him. I made a vow to act as a father to the 
poor boy, until I could discover the secret of his birth, and I will 
not break my oath. Thinking that his life would not be safe if 
I did not keep the manner in which I became possessed of him 
a secret, I adopted the plan of placing him under ihe care of my 
sister, whose son I reported him to be. Now, dame, you know 
all about the matter, and I'm certain I need not impress upon your 
mind the necessity of silence, until Providence shall deem it fit to 
unravel the mystery of his birth, and bring the assassins of his 
father to punishment. But, come, this is a melancholy story, and I 



I'S' GALLANT TOM. 

must endeavor to shake off the effects of it; I must try a verse or 
two of my favorite old song : ' 

' " Merry is the sailor's life, 

Free from every care and strife, 
With cheerful heart he'll o'er the ocean go ; v 
Let the billows foam and roar, 
It only pleases Jack the more, 
And damme, don't he like to thi-ash the foe ! 

To every foreign clime he roam 
He loves his ship just like his home. 

With a yeo, yeo, yeo ! 

Drink, drink, and kiss the lasses, 
Drink away, let's bo gav, 

Fal de "ral, de ral, lal lay !' " 

The Earl Fitzosbert paced his chamber with impatient s'eps on 
the niajht the villain Saib had, by his commands, hastened to tin 
"Old Commodore," to perpetrate the sanguinary deed. 

"Yes," he muttered to himself ''my heart tells me that the suspi- 
cions of Saib are right, and that my brother's hateful brat still exists 
in the person of the boy Richard. 'Tis strange that he should thus 
cross my path! But if Saib fail not, he will not remain long to an- 
noy me. And yet," he continued, after a pause, " why should I be 
so eager to have the boy's life ? He, probably, knows not that he is 
any other than the nephew of the man who brought him up, and 
what chance has he of ever discovering his real prigin ? Again, and 
is he not going to sea, and, exposed to all the vicissitudes of that life, 
•may he not perish unknown ? I do almost repent me of having 
sanctioned this dreadful crime. But what a weak, wayward fool I 
am getting ; the deed once done, I am secure against all fear of dis- 
covery ?" 

Still was he doubtful and uneasy ; and he longed, yet dreaded the 
return of his myrmidon, the ruffian Saib. Every sound that vi- 
brated on his ears, made him start ; and more than once he walked 
on the balcony before the window^ and straining his eyes over the 
scenery beyond, endeavored to discover him approaching ; but he 
came not : and at that late hour, for it was then midnight, all was 
still as death, save, at intervals, the wailing cry of the sea-mew, and 
the dashing of the waves. Another hour elapsed in this manner, 
and still the black came not, and the uneasiness of the earl increased 
to almost an insupportable degree. 

" What can detain him ?" he soliloquized ; "surely he has failed in 
his attempt, and fallen into the hands of justice. I cannot bear to 
think of that. Should it be so, what can save me from disgrace and 
ignominy ? Fool that I was, again to trust him, when he before 
was unsuccessful, or otherwise deceived me ? But no, there is no 
fear of his accomplishing his inhuman purpose; the hand and fortune 
of my fair ward will urge him on to desperation. Methinks, how- 
ever, he will find himself duped; the hand and wealth of the beau- 
teous Rosina must not be so slightly sacrificed. I have other but 

what noise is that ?" 



GALLANT TOM. 19 

The sounds that had disturbed the earl seemed like the closing of 
♦he outer door, and he immediately started to the balcony, and 
looked over to endeavor to ascertain •if anybody had entered or 
quitted the house. At first it was so dark that he could not per- 
ceive anything; but at last he just observed, but very indistinctly, 
apparently the forms of two men, who were running at a rapid rate 
along the high road which led from the house. 

The earl was astonished at this circumstance ; for who could have 
had occasion to leave his mansion at such an unreasonable hour of 
the night ? Were they thieves ? And if they were, how could 
they have gained an entrance to the house, without alarming the 
family ; and more particularly, without his hearing them, when his 
attention was so ready to catch the slightest sound ? Not at all sat- 
isfied, and knowing that his domestics had retired to rest, the earl 
took up the lamp that was burning in his chamber, and leaving the 
place, he descended the stairs with silent steps, often looking back, 
and pausing to listen, not from any fear of encountering danger, but, 

" Conscience, which makes cowards of us all" 

was at work within him ; and particularly aLthat solemn hour, when 
all was so still and melancholy around him.^In his progress, he two 
or three times suddenly paused and trembled, for he almost imagined 
he heard some one groaning, and then his blood would turn cold, and 
the perspiration would stand upon his temples. At length, ashamed 
of his weakness, he aroused himself, and holding the lamp above his 
head to facilitate his view, he proceeded to the hall, and examined 
all the doors. The front door was bolted, and perfectly secure ; but 
his suspicions were confirmed when he found that a back door, 
which opened immediately upon a path that led round to the high 
road, was neither locked nor bolted. 

Fearful that the house had been plundered, the earl was about to 
arouse his domestics, when a thought struck him, that probably the 
door had been left unfastened in a mistake, and he therefore deter- 
mined to examine the rooms below. He first, however, returned to 
his chamber, and brought with him a brace ef pistols to defend him- 
self, in case there should be any persons in the mansion, and then 
made his way to the lower apartments, where everything seemed to 
remain in the same state as when those who had the care of them 
had left. 

Satisfied that thieves ha() not been in the house, the earl re-ascended 
to his own room. « It was now past three o'clock, and the day was 
beginning to break in at the windows ; but Saib came not. The 
earl's uneasiness was most intolerable, and he formed a thousand 
vague conjectures as to the cause, which were rejected as soon as 
they occurred to him. At length, however, after racking his brain 
for nearly another hour, he concluded that his return might be no- 
ticed by some of the domestics and their suspicions aroused. Tired 
with thinking, Fitzosbert threw himself upon his couch, and sought 
to woo the drowsy god. He soon fell into a sound sleep, but it was 



^0 GALLANT TOM. 

unrefreshing to him, for his imagination was disturbed by frightful 
visions, the nature of which may be easily imagined. 

He woke not until the middle of the day, when he hastily arose, 
and ringing his bell, ordered the servant to attend, to desire Saib to 
come to him in his chamber immediately. The man went away to 
fulfill these orders, and quickly returned and informed his master that 
Saib was nowhere in the house, neither had he been seen by any 
one that morning. A chilling presentiment of something wrong 
darted through the mind of Fitzos5ert on hearing this, and he ab- 
ruptly ordered the man to quit the room, for fear he might notice his 
emotions : he arose from his couch in a state of anxiety which we 
will not attempt to describe, and descended to the breakfast room. 

" Where is your lady, Miss Rosina ?" inquired the earl, when he 
perceived that she was not in the apartment. 

" I have not seen her this morning, my lord," replied the female 
attendant to whom he had addressed himself 

"Not seen her this morning!" reiterated Fitzosbert; "this is 
strange ! send her waiting woman to me immediately." 

The servant left the apartment to obey the order of her master, 
who arose from his chair, folded his arms, and traversed the room 
in the utmost state of agitation. In a few minutes the girl returned, 
and informed him that ratty was nowhere to be found, and that the 
chamber of Rosina was entirely deserted. 

" Liar," cried the earl furiously, "it is a vi^e plot among the lot 
of ye, to distract my brain!" and pushing the servant rudely away 
from him, Fitzosbert hurriedly quitted the apartment, and rushed 
up the stairs towards the chamber of Rosina. There he found a 
confirmation of the servant's statements; the room was empty, and 
the bed had evidently never been entered the night before. Casting 
his eyes eagerly around the chamber, he observed on the table a 
note. He snatched it up; it was addressed to himself, and tearing 
it open, he read as follows : 

" Your tyranny has driven me to this ; I have followed the dic- 
tates of my own free will ; expect not to see me again, until I shall 
no longer be subject to your power, 

Rosina." 

Scarcely had the earl perused these lines, which convinced him 
that the two persons he had heard quit the mansion were Rosina 
and her attendant, when two or three of the men whom he had a 
short time before sent to make inquiries after Saib, returned and 
made him acquainted with what had transpired at the house of Mat 
Marlingspike, and the manner in which the ruffian Saib had been 
disposed of 

"Confusion!" cried the earl; "Rosina fled, my trusty Saib tre- 
panned ! There is some infernal spell upon me !" 



GALLANT TOM. 21 

CHAPTER -11. 

It was night, and Gallant Tern and several of his shipmates had 
gathered together in the fore peak, and were quaffing their grog as 
cheerful as possible. The sea was right in the eyes of the vessel, 
and the dashing of the waves against the bends on the outside, as it 
was divided by the keelson, had a melanchol}^ moaning sound. In 
a remote corner of the place, and apart from the rest of the men 
were seated Rosina and Patty, They both looked pale and fatigued ; 
but there was an expression in the beautiful eyes of the former as 
they rested on the handsome and manly countenance of Tom, which 
plainly told how truly her heart was devoted to him, and how ready 
she was to suffer any inconvenience, to expose herself to any danger, 
to be near him, to gaze upon him, to hear the tones of his voice, and 
witness his generous and gallant conduct. 

Many were the rude remarks to which the heroic girls had been 
subjected since they had been on board the vessel, and often was 
their secret near being betrayed. Sometimes the observations made 
6y some of the men, conveyed to them an idea that their true char- 
acters were discovered ; and at such times they would blush and 
tremble with such evident confusion, that it was a wonder they 
did not betray themselves. And then the arduous duties they had 
to perform, so opposite to their sex, were sufficient of themselves to 
make the strongest minds sink under it. But no ; although often 
exhausted and ill, Rosina and her faithful attendant went to their 
hammocks, and bore up against it with a fortitude that was truly 
wonderful. 

But, although Tom frequently joked with them on their delicacy 
and weakness, his remarks were never characterized by that coarse- 
ness which his shipmates indulged in ; and when he saw them go 
awkwardly about anything, he would seem to take a pleasure in as- 
sisting them, and showing them the right way to do it. 

Strange it was that a passion so ardent and sincere should engraft 
itself in the heart of a female so differently circumstanced, and who 
might have had^ wealthy admirers at her feet, for the plain, simple, 
but honest tar. But love knows no distinction. When she thought 
about the terrible conflict in which they would soon be engaged, 
and that Tom might be one of those gallant fellows destined to I'all, 
her heart sunk within her ; and many a time she tossed restless 
'about in her hammock — while the weary sailor slept soundly, regard- 
less of the ocean'a roar, she would offer up the most fervent prayers 
to Heaven for his preservation. 

The ruffian, Saib, having promised to behave himself and do his 
duty, had been set at liberty in the ship soon after it had left Ports- 
mouth ; but he was watched narrowly, and with eyes of suspicion, 
by all the sailors, especially Gallant .Tom, who carefully kept Rich- 
ard from his clutches, fearful that the dark si)irit which had before 
prompted him to seek his life, might lead him to perpetrate it now, 
in spite of the consequence that must follow. 



22 GALLANT TOM, 

But though the black promised to obey, it was evident he still 
nurtui'ed the demon in his heart, and only wanted an opportunity to 
be revenged upon those who had been the cause of placing him in 
his present situation. 

How Rosina shuddered whenever she encountered this hateful 
being, fearing that he would recognise her, even beneath the disguise 
she had assumed! Frequently, too, he had made a full stop when 
they had met upon deck, and fixed his large and ferocious eyes upon 
her countenance, as though he had some recollection of her features ; 
and it was with difficulty she could find nerve sufficient to confront 
him, and prevent her betraying herself to him. 

''Push about the grog, my hearties," observed Tom, as he quafied 
off a stiff allowance with perfect ease : " this is what I call a snug 
party ; and damme, I dare be bound to say a bolder set of lads are 
not to be found in the British fleet !" 

" Well said, Tom," observed a rough-looking tar, with an immense 
quid crammed into his jaw, and swelling out his cheek as if he was 
troubled with a violent tooth-ache; "there's not a chicken heart in 
this vessel, I think ; if I thought there was, shiver my timbers, if I 
wouldn't make one to toss him overboard to the sharks !" 

" Fear," said Tom, contemptuously ; " who ever heard of such a 
thing in the British navy, I should like to know ? Why, lor' bless 
yer, courage comes as natural to us as A B C. To be sure, we all 
feel a little strange and qualmish-like, when we first go out ; and 
that's how it is with Joe Gordon (the name Rosina had assumed) 
and his cousin, I suppose. Though they are willing lads, they are 
much too tender and delicate tor sailors. I have often thought, that 
if they were put into petticoats, they would make two capital mil- 
liners, or dressmakers. Here, my lads, drink ; don't sit moping there 
like a tar upon six-water grog. If you will only place yourselves 
under my care, bless your souls, I shall make you quite accomplished 
in no time. You must bustle about when we attack the Mounseers, 
I can tell you ; no skulking in the midst of battle ; the French sv/abs 
do not turn tail easy. However, we are the chaps that can do it for 
them." 

We need not attempt to describe the confusion of Rosina and 
Patty during this speech ; and they could almost imagine they be- 
held the eyes of the sailors fixed upon them with suspicious scrutiny ; 
and that Gallant Tom, from the insinuations he was constantly 
giving out, was perfectly aware of their real sex. However, Rosina, 
knowing that the eyes of all the sailors were watching her, aroused, 
herself as much as possible, and, smiling upon Tom, she placed the 
grog to her lips, pretended to drink heartily, and afterwards re- 
marked, — 

" You are right, Tom ; it is natural for a person to feel strange 
and timid on their first cruise, especially when he has before mingled 
in scenes very different, which me and my cousin Ben here have. 
But we shall wear the rust off in time, no doubt, only wait till we 
encounter the enemy, and you shall find that if we want to learn 
how to be sailors, we want no one to teach us how to fiiiht." 



GALLANT TOM, 23 

" Bravo, Joe !" exclaimed Tom, giving the white and delicate hand 
of Rosina a hearty smack ; " damme, you will turn out nothing but 
a good sort after ail, I'll be bound. As for my portogee, little Dick, 
he is a perfect wonder in his way ; — he takes it nat'ral, to be sure, 
and in course that's quite another thing. Besides, now, 1 dare say, 
you have left some one that you love — nay, don't blush like a maid ; 
there is no harm in owning one's feelings, when they are not wrong; 
and, I dare say, if you speak the truth, you will own there is one 
you love, and " 

" Yes, there is indeed one that I love, even dearer than my own !" 
interrupted Rosina, energetically ; " but that one is unconscious of 
the passion it has created." 

"Oh, oh!" observed Tom, with a sly wink; "a little bit of secret 
bus'ness, eh ? Now, splice my timbers, somehow or other, I do like 
to hear you talk : there is something so sweet in your voice, that — 
I was going to say, only you are a man, — reminds me of my pretty 
Ellen ; — bless her heart, I'll be bound she is even now breathing a 
pra^yer to heaven for the safety of him, whom she knows loves her 
so dearly !" 

" But the sailor is exposed to many temptations, Tom," said 
Rosina, timidly. "In foreign climes, fresh faces meet his gaze, and 
those he has loved may be obliterated from his heart in the con- 
templation of them. Even so, may you not forget your Ellen ?" 

" Forget my Ellen ! — my pretty, kind, and faithful Ellen ?" ex- 
claimed Tom, indignantly ; "damme, Joe, if it had been anyone 
else that had dared to hint at such a thing, and I thought he meant 
it, I — I — but what a fool I am making of myself! Don't you see, 
youngster, I don't mind any subject but that; but if any lubber dare 
doubt my constancy to that dear girl, he must prove himself to be' 
a better man than Tom Mainstay, or repent of his boldness. Hallo, 
Dick ! what's the matter with you ? Where have you been, and 
why do you stand there, holding out these signals ?" 

"Quick ! follow me, cautiously, all of you, or in five minutes we 
shall be in eternity !" said the boy. 

Struck by the earnestness of Richard's manner, Tom started upon 
his feet in a moment, and, followed by the rest of the sailors, obeyed 
the wishes of the boy, wondering what could be the meaning of his 
strange behavior. Richard hurried on, with noiseless steps, and led 
the way to the powder magazine, the door of which was open, and 
Tom, being the first, peeped in, and was thunderstruck, when he 
beheld the villian, Saib, brandishing a burning torch in his hand, and 
approaching a cask, the lid of which was knocked off. Tom caught 
the expression of the black fellow's eyes, and he could see they were 
bloodshot with rage and the terrible revenge he was about to take. 
A moment he stood over the cask, and then laughed with a fiendish 
malice. 

" This moment decides all !" he cried. " The black man never is 
insulted without having ample revenge : they have dared to tear me 
from my home, and thus — thus do I -" 

" Hold ! you infernal black swab," cried Gallant Tom, as he 



24 GALLANT TOM. 

rushed upon Saib, and, grasping him with Herculean strength by the 
throat, thwarted him in his demoniacal purpose. " For this, your 
black carcase shall dance a hornpipe upon nothing, for the amuse- 
ment of the sea-gulls 1" 

The eyes of Saib rolled wildly and fiercely in their sockets, as 
Gallant Tom wrenched the torch from his hand, and the rest of the 
sailors secured him. 

" Fiends of hell !' he cried, " seize upon he who has been the cause 
of thwarting me in my well-laid scheme of vengeance ! But for 
this, and the black man would have immolated ye all in one scene 
of terrible destruction, and your dissevered limbs would have filled 
the air I Oh ! curses light upon the wretch who has caused this !" 

" Throw the black shark overboard immediately !" shouted a dozen 
voices. 

'' Aye, overboard with me, if ye like !" exclaimed Saib, " think 
not I tremble at death ! no ; I scorn, despise you all, and would will- 
ingly have sacrificed my own life could I have accomplished my 
revenge at the same time, — base, despicable, detested Christian 
reptiles !" 

" Pluck out the black villain's tongue by the roots !" cried one oi 
the sailors; "no tortures that We can inflict can be terrible enough 
to punish him for the fiendish crimes he would have committed." 

" Avast ! avast ! messmates," observed Tom ; " monster as he is, 
we must not take his punishment upon ourselves : he must be pro- 
perly tried ; and fear not but that he will meet with the fate he so 
richly merits. Away with him to confinement ; and then let our 
officers know of the frightful charge we have against him." 

*' Ha ! ha ! ha !" laughed the wretch, scornfully : " do with me as 
you please; tear me limb from limb; cut the flesh from my bones 
by piecemeal ; torture me any way that you can think of; and ye 
shall not hear a groan escape my lips. The black man mocks tor- 
ment; he laughs at death ; he is callous to pain ; — my last wish will 
be a curse upon ye all. Now, then, bear me to your tortures ! 
But," he continued, as he fixed a look of demoniacal hale upon 
Richard, "if I could only wi-eak my vengeance in the blood of that 
brat before I die — for he, I feel, has been the occasion of this, — I 
could meet my fate with exultation!" 

" DratT him hence !" exclaimed Tom, " we will not listen to his 
unnatural ravings — away with him !" 

The sailors gave a simultaneous shout as they dragged the mon- 
ster away ; and Gallant Tom, accompanied by Richard, who had' 
been the fortunate means of saving the vessel and the whole crew 
from destruction, hastened to communicate the whole particulars to 
the officers. It would be impossible to describe the praise which 
was bestowed upon Richard for his intrepidity, which had saved the 
vessel and the lives of so many human beings from destruction, or 
the universal feeling of disgust and horror, which was excited against 
the villain Saib. No time was lost in bringing him to that punish- 
ment he had incurred, and his fate was quickly decided. 

The next morning all hands were piped upon deck, and the wretch 



GALLANT TOM. 25 

Sail) was brought forth heavily fettered, to receive his sentence. He 
stood unmoved ; his large eyes gleaming fiercely, alternately upon 
the ollicers and those men who had detected him in his diabolical 
attempt. 

" Haul up the old shattered long-boat," said the captain. 

The boat was lugged on to the deck of the vessel in a moment, 
and every eye was fixed upon the captain in painful suspense. He 
paused for a second or two, and turned and spoke in an undertone 
to the officers, who bowed their heads as if assenting to what he 
said. 

" Bind the villain hand and foot in the boat !" exclaimed the cap- 
tain, "and commit liim to the mercy of the waves : thus do we 
punish the miscreant, who would have sacrificed the lives of so 
many of his fellow creatures." 

There was a slight murmur of satisfaction from part of the crew 
on this sentence being pronounced ; but it was quickly stifled in the 
solemnity of the moment, and the awfulness of the punishment they 
were about to inflict upon the hardened wretch. But a smile of 
contempt passed over his features when he heard it, and he resigned 
himself to the hands of the sailors without a word. Another minute 
and he was securely bound in the boat, and then another pause en- 
sued, and the sailors looked earnestly at their officers, as if uncer- 
tain, and hesitating how they should act. 

'•Overboard with him!" cried the captain, "and the Lord have 
mercy on his soul." 

A death-like silence followed : the boat, containing the unhappy 
wretch, was dragged to the side of the vessel and let down with 
ropes. A second only, and there was heard a loud splashing in the 
water; and, directly afterwards, (a strong gale of wind blowing at 
the time) the boat was seen dashing on amidst the rolling billows, 
with the most impetuous fury, until it became a speck, and was seen 
no more. At this juncture, a piercing shriek was heard, which 
made every person present start, and look around them with aston- 
ishment. 

" What noise was that ?'' demanded the captain, hastily. 

No one answered ; and the sailors seemed to be looking upon each 
other with mute astonishment. That shriek was uttered by Rosina, 
who, after the appaling sight she had just witnessed, was so much 
overcome, that it was a matter of astonishment she did not betray 
her-self Fortunately, Patty, who did not lose her self-possession, 
was by her side at the time, and, before they could be observed, 
hurried her from the deck. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. 

It was on the 1st of August, 1780, that the Vanguard discovered 
the French fleet at anchor in the bay of Aboukir, in the line of battle, 



^ GALLANT TOM. 

which was instantly communicated by signal, with their numbers. 
All was bustle and eagerness immediately among the British, and 
none displayed more anxiety for the contest than Gallant Tom. He 
breathed a prayer for a blessing on his dear Ellen, kissed her minia- 
ture, and then hastened to give instructions to little Richard. But 
how shall we attempt to describe the situation of Rosina and Patty ? 
Much as the former dreaded and shuddered at the scene of carnage 
and bloodshed, of which she was shortly to witness and to mingle 
in, her prkicipal anxiety was for him for whom she had ventured so 
much. Many were the prayers she breathed to heaven to protect 
him in the deadly strife, or that if it had destined that he should tall, 
she might not be suffered to survive him. 

At sunset, which was at thirty-one minutes past six, the deadly 
engagement commenced, with an ardor and vigor that British sea- 
men had never before surpassed : soon it raged fiercely, and nothing 
could be heard but the tremendous roar of the cannon, the shouts 
of the sailors, and the groans of the dying. On both sides they 
fought bravely, and the slaughter was dreadful. 

But where were the two adventurous females during this awful 
scene ? They were compelled to keep their post ; and every mo- 
ment they expected would bring them the herald of death. 

As well as her eyes could penetrate through the dense smoke, 
poor Rosina watched the object of her affection ; and one moment 
her heart sunk with horror as she beheld him exposed to the most 
imminent danger, and expected to see him stretched a bleeding 
corpse on the deck ; while the next, it swelled with gratitude and 
hope, as she beheld him released from his perilous position, and, 
a.f)|parentl_y, .sheltered from harm. 

Suddenly there was a hollow cry on board the ship to which our 
hero belonged, and which quickly passed through the whole fleet, 
that the French admiral's ship was on fire ; and soon the flames 
were seen to issue from the after-part of the cabin, with such 
rapidity that the whole after-part of the ship was soon involved in 
flames. About ten o'clock, L'Orient blew up with a terrible explo- 
sion. It was a dreadful sight. An awful pause, and death-like 
silence for about three minutes ensued, when the masts, yards, &c. 
which had been carried to a vast height, fell down into the water 
and on board the surrounding ships. Just at this dreadful moment, 
a loud scream sounded in Tom's ears, and, turning suddenly round, 
Rosina fell bleeding into his arms. She had been struck on the head 
by a portion of one of the masts of the unfortunate L'Orient, and 
had become completely insensible, and apparently dying. 

Anxious to know to what extent the supposed youth was injured, 
(for he had become attached to him since he had been on board) 
Tom bore the insensible Rosina to a place of security, and raising 
her in his arms, unbuttoned the collar of the shirt he wore, to give 
him air ; but who shall attempt to describe his astonishment and 
emotion, when he discovered the beautiful alabaster skin, and grace- 
fully moulded neck of a female ? He could scarcely credit the evi- 
dence of his senses. Again he looked : he parted the hair from her 



GALLANT TOM. 27 

temples, and he was then not only convinced that it was a woman, 
but one of the loveliest creatures he had ever seen before. 

" Poor girl ! poor girl !" said the honest tar, as he gazed on her 
pallid features, and re-arranging her dress, "what can have tempted 
you to this ? Some love alVair, I'll venture my life. Well, well, 
God send that your magnanimity may be rewarded as it deserves ; 
but, much I fear, that you are summoned up aloft. Well might I 
say that she looked as delicate as a dressmaker, poor lass ; but little 
did I suspect this. How lovely she looks, although so pale — almost 
as pretty as my Ellen ! But, shiver my topsails, while I am thus 
talking, she is probably dying ; let me hasten to get her assistance." 

With these words, Tom threw the senseless maiden over his 
shoulder, and made the best of his way to the surgeon, under whose 
care he placed her, after having informed him of the singular dis- 
covery he had made. The news of this romantic adventure had 
spread like lightning through the fleet ; and the general astonishment 
was not a little increased, when her companion was also discovered 
to be of the same sex. The blow which Rosina had received was 
not dangerous, and had nearly stunned her ; with the skilful treat- 
ment of the medical man, she was soon recovered, and found her 
maid, Patty, attending upon her ; and her surprise and confusion 
may be easily imagined, when she was informed their sex was known, 
and that the discovery had been made by him, to be near whom, she 
had assumed the disguise she did. 

" Good God ! what shall I do ? What can I sa}^ in excuse for this 
strange behavior ?" she ejaculated, when her and Patty were alone. 
"My real name and rank must be discovered ; and what will be the 
suspicions they will entertain of my conduct ? What will he, too, 
think ? Should he by any chance ascertain the motives that have 
stimulated me to this rash — this foolish act — will he not despise, de- 
test, upbraid me, lor seeking to obtain that heart which is already 
in the possession of another ? Yes, yes, he will — he must — 1 feel 
he must." 

" Oh, no, Miss," ejaculated Patty ; "you wrong the young man by 
such a thought ; I know you do — he has too noble, too generous 
a mind, to do as you say : he may pity, but can never hate or des- 
pise you." 

" Alas !" returned Rosina, weeping, "how poor a reward will pity 
be for one who loves him with the fervor that. I do — methinks I could 
rather endure his scorn. But, since it has come to this, 1 will no 
longer keep my unfortunate passion a secret locked within my own 
breast. No ; to him I will impart the truth, unravel all my thoughts, 
and, having thus disburthened my mind, and thrown myself upon 
his generosity, what more will then be left me than to die ?" 

"Oh, my dear lady!" exclaimed Patty, "do not talk so — it grieves 
me to hear you. Let us hope for the best, and happiness may yet 
be yours." 

Rosina shook her head. 

"Happiness!" she repeated; "oh! no, no, no; happiness will 
oe'er again be mine. Indeed, I have known but little from my 



28 GALLANT TOM. 

childhood ; and, since the loss of my poor brother, my path has 
been one of thorns. There will be no peace for me but in the 
grave.'' 

" Lor' Miss," observed Patty, " how you do talk ! why, it is enough 
to make a person melancholy to hear you. But do not give way 
to despair, for there is no knowing what Providence has in store for 
you, and " 

" Nay, my poor girl," interrupted her mistress, " do not deceive 
yourself, nor think to deceive me ; I know the goodness of your mo- 
tives ; but with me they must fail in having the effect you wish they 
should. However, I will no longer act the hypocrite ; no — the ob- 
ject of my affection shall be made acquainted with the passion he 
has excited, let whatever may be the result." 

The glorious battle was now over, and the immortal Nelson and 
his gallant men added largely to the laurels already upon their brows. 
Tom, who felt a deep interest in the female, whom he had a second 
time rescued from death, for he soon became acquainted with her 
real rank and name, took the liberty of requesting an interview with 
her. Rosina complied with his desire immediately. 

He found her seated alone in her cabin, and her face, which was 
very pale when he first entered, became suffused with blushes, as he 
looked compassionately upon her, and, in a tone of more than usual 
gentleness, inquired after her health. 

Rosina shook her head, sighed, and replied, — " that she was as 
well as she could be expected ;" and, after having expressed her 
thanks to him for his kindness to her while she had been on board, 
she became silent, and her feelings were evidently undergoing a 
severe trial. Several times she looked at Tom, and tears trembled 
in her eyes : she tried to speak, but the words died away in her 
throat ; she turned away her head, and hid her face in her hand- 
kerchief. 

Tom felt embarrassed and confused at this strange behavior, and 
fearing that his longer intrusion might be considered impertinent, he 
expressed his pleasure at findinsj that she was getting better, and was 
about to leave the place, when Rosina, aroused by his actions, rushed 
suddenly forward, with convulsive emotion, and throwing herself at 
his feet, clasped his knees, and exclaimed — 

" Do not leave me thus ! — nay, you shall not go, until I have made 
you acquainted with my weakness, and revealed to you the un- 
happy wretch my hea,dstrong and ungovernable passion has ren- 
dered me !" 

The honest tar was completely thunderstruck : he could scarcely 
believe that he was awake. Then he thought that Rosina was suf- 
fering under the effects of madness from the blow she had received. 
The earnestness of her manner deeply affected him ; and, raising 
her from her knees, he led her towards a chair, and retiring respect- 
fully to a short distance, he begged her to inform him in what man- 
ner he could assist her. 

"Nay," exclaimed the distracted damsel, "do not look so coolly 
upon me ! I know I have done wrong to encourage this unhappy 



CALLAVP TOM. 29 

passion, when I knew that your heart was engaged to another; but 
still let me not hear that you hate me, and I will endeavor to be 
content. If you really love the fair maiden you have left behind, 
you can feel for mc, and will know how powerful, how irresistible, 
is a sincere affection." 

Tom looked confused and incredulous : he twisted his hat in his 
hand, held down his head, blushed like a maid, and scarcely knew 
what to say. As for Rosina, she appeared to be more composed, 
and perfectly prepared to hear his answer. She had divulged the 
secret which she had so long (with the exception of Patty) confined 
to her own bosom : she had inspired that passion, and she felt as if 
a heavy burthen had been removed from her heart. She looked at 
Tom, and perceiving his embarrassment, fixed upon him a glance of 
the deepest aflection, and said, — 

" Think not wrong of me for making this disclosure, or that I 
have overstepped the bounds of female modesty by so doing. Alas! 
love, such as I feel, admits of no such restrictions as would bind the 
tongue. Yes, I repeat, 1 love you ; that for your sake I assumed 
this disguise ; to be near you, I braved all the perils of the ocean, 
the terrors of the battle ; andf even now, would I willingly make 
any sacrifice, could I obtain a return of the affection I entertain for 
you ; but no — it must not be ; your heart is already engaged, and I 

do the poor girl wrong by Oh, Tom, for by that familiar name 

I must for once be permitted to call you, from the moment I was 
saved from an untimely death by your bravery, my heart has throbbed 
towards you ; but it is no common passion that has moved it ; it is 
a mysterious, an indescribable love, which but increases in strength 
the more I attempt to vanquish it." 

" I ask pardon, Miss," said the honest, plain-spoken tar, who still 
continued to twirl his hat upon his thumb ; "yer see, th' fact o' the 
matter is this — I — I — I mean to say, that I am not much used to 
fine palaver, and, therefore, cannot make you such a reply as I ought. 
You do me great honor by th' good opinion you are pleased to have 
of me, and I am sorry you should have been put to such an incon- 
venience in consequence ; as for loving me, why, you know, Miss, 
the difference of our stations would forbid me to encourage any idea 
of returning it, even if my pretty Ellen did not present a still 
greater obstacle. I am only a poor sailor, with no other fortune 
than a strong arm, a willing heart, and a clear conscience ; while 
you, a lady, and " 

" Oh, what is rank — what is fortune ?" ejaculated Rosina, fer- 
vently ; " 1 value them not. But, enough of this ; I have relieved 
my mind, and I appeal to your honor not to betray the confidence I 
have reposed in you." 

" Betray you, ^liss !" cried Tom, emphatically ; " never I — I would 
suffer myself to be hauled up to the ^yard-arm first. Nay, more, 
Miss, if the friendship, the esteem, of a'humble being like me, should 
be considered of any value by you, rest assured that they are yours 
—^indeed, that I will love you as a brother." 
."A brother!" reiterated Rosina, and tears filled her eyes. "Ah 



go GALLANT TOM. 

I had a brother once — a kind, a gentle brother, — I lost him in h\k\ 
childhood!" 

" Did he then die, Miss ?" inquired Tom, whose interest and cu' 
riosity were excited. 

"No, he did not," answered Rosina ; "he disappeared in a most I 
mysterious manner, and I have heard no tidings of him since." .1 

" And how long, say you, is it since this occurred ?" inquired Toni,| 
eagerly. 

" As near as I can recollect, it is about eighteen years since,' 
answered Rosina ; " but I can recall the features of my poor bro-J 
ther as clearly to my memory as if I had gazed on them but yestei 
day. It was the strong likeness which you bear to that lost brothejj 
which first drew my heart towards you, and " 

" This is strange !" interrupted Tom. " I was stolen from my 
home, when a boy, by gipsies, from whom I afterwards escaped ; 
and, having lost all clue of my friends, I entered on board a ship, 
and have been ploughing the waves ever since." 

" But had you a sister ?" demanded Rosina, breathlessly. 

" I had," answered Tom : " 1 can well remember her ; she was a 
pretty blue-eyed girl, like a little fairy, of whom I was fond, and 
used to take such pride in gathering for her all the fancy shells and 
pebbles on the sea-beach. Many a time has that sweet child haunted 
my imagination, and " 

"Was your father living when you were stolen away ?" asked 
Rosina, as a strange, indefinite feeling came over her. 

" He was : a fisherman was his calling ; and, though it becomes 
me not to speak ill of him that gave me being, he was a morose, 
harsh, and cruel man, that neither me nor my sister could love 
him." 

" His name ? — quick ! quick ! for Heaven's sake I" gasped forth 
R6sina. 

" Will Brandon !" replied the astonished Tom. 

Rosina uttered a scream of astonishment and joy, and threw her- 
self into the arms of Tom. 

'' Merciful God !" she exclaimed, " Thy ways are wonderful 1 My 
brother ! — my long lost brother !" 

It would be dtterly impossible to describe the astonishment and 
agitation of Tom, as he held the beauteous Rosina to his bosom, she 
having fainted, and remembered the words she had uttered. He 
parted the silken locks from her pale temples, gized steadfastly upon 
her countenance, and scrutinized minutely its every lineament ; and, 
as he did so, he felt as it were his heart bound towards her, and he 
was convinced that they were nearly related as she had mentioned. 
His emotion became excessive : he sought to arouse her to sensi- 
bility — called her sister, and pressed his lips upon her cheek with all 
the fervor of brotherly love. . 

" Yes, it must be so !" he cried, as he gazed upon the pale coun 
tenance of the insensible maiden : " my heart tells me that the poor 
lass has spoken correctly, and that she is the same dear sister with 
whom I have so often Irolicked in childhood, and whose innocent 



GALLANT TOM. 31 

smile 1 can never forget. Ah ! there is the same fairy locks, the 
beautiful mild blue eyes, the — the — oh, shiver me ! I am so over- 
joyed I don't know what to do with myself. Sister ! Damme, I 
could repeat the name a thousand times, I am so fond of it. And 
then to think that the dear girl should I'eel such an instinctive affec- 
tion for me, and to expose herself to so many dangers to be near 
me, while I was so blind and silly that I did not know her — it seems 
to be impossible ! My eyes ! here will be a tale to tell old Mat and 
my pretty little Ellen ! — that — that — I have got a sister! — that I am 
rich ; — and that — splice my timbers ! if my Nell shan't ride in her 
carriage, and have servants to wait upon her !" 

Here the honest tar was so overcome by the power of his feelings, 
that, in spite of all his manly efforts to the contrary, he could not 
help weeping upon the pallid cheek of his newly discovered sister. 

" But, what a fool I am to stay here, with my pumps at work, and 
she is, perhaps, dying!" he suddenly ejaculated, dashing the tears 
from his eyes, raising her in his arms, and putting his ear to her lips, 
to ascertain whether or not the dear object of his care and anxiety 
still breathed. " Poor girl ! I do think it would break my heart if 
vou were to be taken from me, just as you have discovered that you 
have a brother living to protect and love you. The more I look 
upon her countenance, the stronger my heart warms towards her, 
and methinks I see sister stamped upon every feature. Dear, dear, 
girl I But, avast! this will not do; I am ashamed of myself; 1 
shall become a child again in a few moments if I do not put a stop 
to it." 

As Gallant Tom gave utterance to these words, he placed the 
insensible form of Rosina carefully over his shoulder, and bore her 
hastily into a cabin, where he placed her under the care of a female 
and the doctor ; but would not leave her until he was satisfied that 
there was no fear of her recovery, and that her feelings, being over- 
come by the sudden surprise, had caused her merely to swoon. Tom 
then pressed two or three more ardent kisses on her lips, and departed 
to his duty. 

Tom had scarcely got upon deck, when he was startled by loud 
cries, and upon inquiring the cause, he was horror-struck to hear 
that the boy, Richard, had that moment accidentally fallen over- 
board, and liad disappeared beneath the waves. Like a madman, 
Tom rushed forward, and inquired the spot where his protege had 
fallen ; but, ere the answer could be given, he saw him rise upon the 
crest of one of the billows, and, without waiting an instartt for con- 
."sideration, the heroic tar sprang overboard ; and, catching hold of 
the jacket of the boy, almost immediately afterwards sunk with him 
under the waves. 

The persons who had watched the action of the intrepid Tom, 
which was all the work of a moment, and done before they had 
time to render any assistance, which they might otherwise have 
done, were in a state of most dreadful suspense, fearful that he would 
perish in his brave attempt to save the life of Richard ; but, ere they 
could take any steps to rescue them, Tom was seen to rise again on 



32 GALLANT TOM. 

the waves, with the senseless body of the boy held firmly under his 
arm, while, with the other hand, he made a desperate effort to reach 
the boat, which had been lowered. 

It was a narrow escape : another moment, and the gallant fellow 
must have sunk exhausted, when the boat fortunately drifted to- 
wards him ; he caught hold of it by the gunnel, and succeeded in 
getting into it with the boy. The sailors set up a loud shout of joy 
when they beheld their esteemed messmate in safety, and immediately 
assisted them both upon deck. 

Rosina had regained her senses, and acquainted Patty with the 
wonderful discovery she had made, whose astonishment, as may be 
naturally expected, exceeded all bounds. She, however, was strictly 
enjoined by her mistress to keep it a profound secret, until she and 
Tom had consulted what was the best plan to adopt. 

Tom sought the earliest opportunity of seeing Rosina again, and 
their meeting was of the most afiectionate description. If anything 
had been wanting to confirm the truth of Tom's being the brother 
of Rosina, two peculiar marks on his left wrist did away every 
doubt ; — beside, the name of the man who had brought them up, 
the place where they had lived, and the different scenes which they 
had been in the habit of rambling to, and which Tom perfectly well 
recollected, did away with all possible suspicion. 

Rosina related all that had happened to her since Tom's abduction, 
to which he listened with the utmost surprise, more especially when 
he learned that Will Brandon was not their father, and that their 
real parent was wealthy and noble. But his heart throbbed with 
indignation when she recounted to him the conduct of the Earl 
Fitzosbert towards her, and the presumptuous insolence of the 
wretch Saib. 

" The infernal shark I" exclaimed Tom, his eyes sparkling with 
rage ; " let me but reach Plymouth again, and I will pull his house 
about his ears, — to dare to insult and ill-treat a woman ! and that 
woman my sister, too ! — O, damme, if I'would not make mincemeat 
of his proud carcase !" 

Rosina beheld with love and admiration the honest energy of her 
long-lost brother ; and as she hung upon his neck and looked into his 
features, all the happy days of childhood rushed into sunny vividness 
upon her memory, and she wept ; but they were tears of joy she shed. 

To prevent the excitement that such an event would cause on 
board, and likewise the more securely to forward their designs as 
regarded the Earl, it was determined between Tom and Rosina, 
that they should keep the discovery they had made a secret, till they 
had got on shore. 

So singular were the events of the last few days, that Tom could 
scarcely persuade himself that it was not a dream. His heart was 
overflowing with gratitude to Omnipotence for the restoration of his 
sister ; and if the idea of the alteration there would be in his cir- 
cumstances made an impression on his mind, it was to fill him with 
delight, to think that he should be able to make his Ellen not only 
happy, but rich. 



GALLANT TOM. 33 

" Yes !" cried the gallant sailor, as he pressed the likeness of his 
sweetheart to his lips, "if I were to become a prince, no other but 
you, my pretty Ellen, should become my bride. What care 1 for 



CHAPTER IV. 



It was a beautiful evening : a refreshing breeze was wafted from 
the bosom of the deep blue ocean, and the crimson glow of the 
setting sun caught the white spray, and gave it the appearance of 
molten gold. Many a gallant vessel was floating in the port ; and 
from their lofty mast-heads their signals waved proudly and triumph- 
antly in the air. 

The town of Plymouth presented an unusual scene of gaiety : 
people v/ere moving to and fro, attii'ed in their best clothes, and all 
the diflerent public-houses were full of sailors, old and young: the 
fiddle was going merrily in many of them — while in others might be 
observed groups of old sailors, and anxious females listening to one 
who was reading from the Gazette, the account of the battle of the 
Nile. At the end of every sentence, the pride and delight of all 
present demonstrated itself in the most enthusiastic shouts ; the 
females looked sadly on ; mothers wept at the uncertainty of the fate 
of their sons, and young women trembled when they reflected that 
probably those they loved were among the slain. 

"The Old Commodore" public-house was more than usually 
thronged, and Mat Marlinspike and his dame had enough to do 
to wait upon their numerous guests. As for Ellen, she was too 
deeply aflected, and her heart was too heavy to suffer her to take 
any part in the business ; and she listened to the 'account of the 
engagement with feelings of terror and apprehension. When the 
gray-headed old veteran, who was reading the paper, came to the 
^ Vanguard," and the number of the killed and wounded, she turned 
ghastly pale, and was obliged to lean for support against the porch, 

"Come, come, Ellen," said her father, "don't be down-hearted; 
your lover may be safe enough after all ; and if not, he has met the 
death of a brave fellow, as many one has done before him." 

" Oh, my dear father!" exclaimed Ellen, shuddering, " for Heaven's 
sake, do not mention that dreadful probability; it smites my heart 
with horror. If Tom is slain, my happiness will be at an end, and 
death would be a mercy to me." 

" Do not despair, my dear girl ; there are many chances and mis- 
chances for a man at sea," observed her father: "perhaps he may 
have been sent aloft — perhaps he is quite' well — and mayhap he is 
wounded. I say, Nell, what would you say if your lover was to 
come back to you with a timber loe, one eye, or an iron hook in- 
stead of a hand ?" 



34 GALLANT TOM. 

" Heaven preserve liini from any such calamity !" exclaimjEd the 
damsel, fervently ; " but if he should come bacii maimed and dis- 
figured as you have described, think you it would alter my senti- 
ments towards him ? Oh, no, no ! although he might be frightful 
to look upon, in my eyes he would be all that he ever was — the 
same kind, the affectionate, the brave, the constant Tom ; — nay, 
if it be possible, I would love him still more ardently for his mis- 
fortunes." 

" Well spoken, Nell, — well spoken, my lass," said her father : "God 
send that your best wishes may be realized, for you are an honor to 
your sex, and every way worthy of becoming the happy wife of such 
a brave fellow as Gallant Tom. Richard too — I wonder if he is 
safe ? Oh, how anxious am I to see them both again ! See, yonder 
goes the Earl Fitzosbert, looking as moody as usual. Since he has 
lost his worthy confidant, that black rascal Saib, and the strange 
disappearance of his ward, Miss Rosina, together with her servant, 
Patty, he has become more stern than ever, and he looks upon every- 
body with an eye of suspicion, and seems if he could willingly cut 
all our throats. Well, let him enjoy his whim ; there is no love lost, 
I reckon. — Coming, messmates." 

With these words, Mat bustled into the house to attend upon his 
customers. 

The Earl Fitzosbert stood for a few moments at some distance, 
with folded arms, and gazed up,on the group. His brows were 
contracted, and the contemptuous curl of his lip showed the dark 
thoughts that pervaded his mind. He frowned, and walked slowly 
on in the direction of his house, with his eyes bent upon the ground, 
and seeming completely absorbed in his gloomy meditations. 

Vain had been all the endeavors of the Earl to learn what had 
become of Rosina and her maid ; and, after instituting inquiries for 
several months, and otfering a large reward to any one who could 
give him any information upon the subject, he at length gave it up 
in despair. The account of the engagement brought the business 
more immediately to his mind. He wondered if Saib still lived, and 
if he would return to England ; if he did, then would hope once 
more revive in his bosom, for he knew that the zeal of his faithful 
myrmidon would never rest until he had discovered the retreat of 
Rosina, and placed her once more within their power. 

It was about a month after the news of the battle of the Nile had 
reached England, that the Earl was seated in his study, when the 
door was suddenly thrown open ; and his astonishment may be 
readily imagined, when Saib, in a sailor's dress, stood before him! 

The Earl started, ana could scarcely believe the evidence of his 
senses, while Saib folded his arms, and stood gazing upon his mas- 
ter's demonstrations of astonishment in solemn silence. 

" Is it possible ! and do I again behold my faithful Saib ? or is it 
only some delusive vision ?" ; 

" It is no vision, Earl," answered the black, " but the same Saib 
to whom you are so much indebted." 

" Indebted!" repeated the Earl, with a shudder, as the dark deeds 



GALLANT TOM. 35" 

of the past arose upon his recollection, and he could not help feeling 
a momentary sentiment of disgust at the wretch who could thus 
make a hoast of his ini()uities ; but he stifled the feeling as well as 
he could, and soon forgot everything in the surprise he experienced 
at the unexpected rea]>pearance of his faithful myrmidon. 

" This, indeed, alVords me pleasure," said the Earl : " welcome 
once more to England. I much need your aid and counsel. But, 
tell me, whither have you been ?" 

"I have a tale of wrongs to tell you," said Saib, "which will 
make your blood boil with rage to listen to ; but the injuries that 
have been done me shall be amply avenged. Yes, now I once more 
tread this shore, nothing'shall foil me in my designs. Let the Chris- 
tian reptiles tremble ! th§y have aroused a spirit that will not rest 
until it has heaped destruction upon them all. I suppose you heard 
how I was trepanned on the night when I sought to rid you of that 
hated obstacle to your peace ?" 

" I did," answered the Earl. 

" And yet you sought not to avenge the deed !" 

" On whom was my revenge to fall, when those who had done the 
wrong were far away ?" demanded the Earl. 

" True ; but the black man's wrath would have led him to have 
wreaked his revenge upon all those who had in any way been con- 
nected with the objects of his hate ; and it shall do so yet, or may 
my arm wither from my body !" 

The villain related the manner in which he had been frustrated in 
his diabolical attempt on the life of Richard, and afterwards forced 
on board " The Vanguard." 

" I cannot describe to you sufficiently the passions of deadly malice 
and hatred that inhabited my breast ever afterwards," resumed Saib. 
'• I exhausted all my execrations in breathing curses upon the heads 
of those who had been the means of placing me in such a situation, 
and was determined that I would have a dreadful and sanguinary 
satisfaction. But I was forced to dissemble, or I should have been 
kept in irons, and totally deprived of all power to put my wishes 
into execution. 1 therefore pretended to compunction, promised 
obedience to the rules of the vessel, and expressed contrition for 
what I had been guilty of Need I tell you how this tortured me ? 
I could endure no greater punishment than even to show the sem- 
blance ofi. repentance towai-d those whom I only longed for an op*- 
portunity to sacrifice to my vengeance. But it had the desired effect ; 
the ofTicers were deceived ; I was released from my fetters, and per- 
mitted to take my seaman's station in the ship. No sooner did I 
thus find myself at liberty, than my heart yearned to put my plans 
into execution. I watched my opportunity with the same vigilance 
as the Mineral! does for his booty. But an infernal spell seemed to 
be upon me, and something always occurred at the very moment I 
was on the point of gratifying my wishes; to render my stratagem 
abortive. 

" The repeated disappointments drove me to madness and a state 
of ungovernable fury ; and at last I determined, by one desperate 



So GALLANT TOM. ' ■ 

effort, to immolate, not only those whom I had cause to detest, but 
myself and the whole crew. To be brief, I resolved to set fire in 
the powder magazine, and blow the whole of them into the air." 

Even the Earl could not help shuddering at this recital ; and he 
unconsciously admired the interposition of Providence, by which 
means it had been saved in so miraculous a manner. 

Saib continued — 

" The wretches bound me hand and foot in their shattered boat, 
and consigned me to the mercy of the waves. Death seemed in- 
evitable ; for, even if the boat should be able to battle the fury of 
the ocean, I must die of hunger. Had my limbs been free, I should 
at once have ended my tortures by plunging into the sea, and I 
wished that every wave would swallow me,up. With the apparent 
nearer approach of death, my strength appeared to increase, and, 
after innumerable efforts, I succeeded in getting my arms at liberty. 
Of course, it was not long before I released myself from the ropes 
altogether: I stood upright in the boat, and looked sternly around 
me upon the dark blue waves. I was about to take the fatal leap, 
when a sudden thought darted across my brain, and arrested my 
purpose. A voice seemed to whisper in my ear that there was yet 
hope, and that I might still live for vengeance on the objects of my 
detestation. I resolved to make a violent struggle to save myself. 
But how ? Exposed in an open, crazy boat, with nothing but the 
ocean and the sky to be seen, and without any knowledge whither 
the impetuous billows were driving me! For six hours was I tossed 
about in this manner, expecting every moment would be my last ; 
at length the crazy vessel was swamped, and I found myself im- 
mersed jn the ocean. I rose again upon the waves, and struggled 
hard for life. I saw a rock at no great distance from me, to which 
I endeavored to make my way. After some difficulty I succeeded 
in my design, and, weak and exhausted, clambered up the craggy 
side of the rock, until I reached its lofty summit. I gazed around 
me, and the scene presented nothing but despair to my eyes. The 
rock was entirely barren. Here, then, must I remain to starve ; but 
still the hope of future revenge sustained me. I crouched down in 
the hollow of the rock, and, completely worn out with fatigue, fell 
into a sleep. 

" The next day, hunger was so intense upon me, that I gnawed 
the flesh from my arm. Suddenly my eyes rested upon the white 
sails of a vessel at no considerable distance, and which seemed to 
be approaching in the direction of the rock on which I stood. In a 
delirium of joy at the hope of deliverance, I tore the shirt from my 
back, and, waving it over my head, shouted till I felt the blood rush- 
ing to my head with the exertion. The ship approached quickly : 
at length they gave a signal they saw me, and a short time after- 
wards they put off a boat with three men in it to my assistance. I 
could scarcely wait till the boat reached the rock, and was almost 
tempted to plunge into the water to swim to it. At length it reached 
me : I was released and conveyed safely on board. It turned out 
to be a Spanish vessel. I told that I had sailed in a trading vessel, 



GALLANT TOM. 37 

which had been attacked by a pirate, who destroyed the captain 
and aU the crew and passengers, I only escaping my fate by pre- 
cipitating myself into the sea. The captain received me kindly, 
and conveyed me to the port to which he was bound, where, after 
enduring the most dreadful privations, I contrived to get on board a 
vessel bound to Newland, in which I arrived but yesterday. Now 
tell me. Earl Fit/.osbert, ha% not your slave endured enough in his 
endeavors to serve his master ?" 

When Saib had thus concluded his narrative, the Earl remained 
silent for a few minutes, and appeared to be wrapped in deep rumi- 
nation ; while the former folded his arms and traversed the apart- 
ment, brooding over the facts he had first recited, and contemplating 
the means of gratifying his revenge. At length the Earl broke the 
silence, and said, — " Saib, you have indeed done much, for which I 
hope vou will receive ample satisfaction ; nor have I been without 
my share of trouble since you have been away. Rosina ^" 

" Ah ! what of her ?" interrupted the black, eagerly. " Speak — 
tell me !" 

" Immediatel}'' after you were taken away, I missed Rosina and 
her maid Patty ; and from that time, although my search has been 
most vigorous, I have not seen or heard anything of her." 

" Damnation!" exclaimed the enraged black, his eyes rolling fiercely 
in their sockets, and his broad chest heaving with the intensity of 
his feelings: "Rosina fled! my hopes crushed! Hark you, Earl 
Fitzosbert, do not attempt to deceive me, for you know how much 
you have cause to dread me, and how little I care about risking my 
own life to be avenged on those who do me wrong. This is a stra- 
tagem of your own to avoid the fulfilment of the promise you made 
and swore to me. You know where the girl is situated !" 

" By heaven, I do not ; but, even if Rosina was still in my power, 
you have not yet fulfilled your compact, and consequently have no 
claim upon her." 

" Indeed ! so this is your gratitude for all the risks I have run ! 
Well, well, I ought to have expected it ; but beware ! seek not to 
tamper with me, or, by all the powers of evil, you shall repent it !" 

"Oh'! dare you threaten ?" 

" Dare 1 threaten !" repeated the black, with a contemptuous smile ; 
" aye, and perform too ! Do you know. Earl Fitzosbert, that one 
word from me would level all your present wealth and power with 
the dust, and place you — yes, you — upon the scafli^ld ? Seek not 
to exasperate me, for, when I am once aroused, it is no easy matter 
to appease my wrath." 

" iVay, my good Saib," said the Earl, shuddering at his threats, 
and truckling with all the weakness of a child, " this is madness : we 
should not quarrel, who " 

* You know where the girl is concealed!" 

" I swear to you, Saib, — solemnly swear, — that I do not !" 

" This is strange !" muttered the black, biting his lips, and pacing 
the room with hurried steps ; "but her fortune ?" 

" Is still in my power," replied the Earl. 



^S GALLANT TOM. 

" 'Tis well," said Saib, with a look of exultation : "at any rate, if 
the flight of the girl prevents your fulfilling one part of your agree- 
ment, the possession of her properly enables you to perform the ; 
other." 

" Her money is not at my disposal !" exclaimed the Earl. 

" Pshaw !" cried the black, " you were not wont to be so nice about \ 
trifles !" ' 

" We will talk more of this anon, Saib," said Fitzosbert; "at' 
present, we must devote our whole attention towards the discovery 
of the retreat of the fugitive ; and, now that I have the aid of your 
sagacity, I entertain a hope that we shall yet be successful." 

" Well, be it so," said Saib; "but say, have our foes returned to 
England yet ?" 

" They have not; but are expected every day," answered the 
Earl. 

"If those 1 hate have survived the bloody carnage," ejaculated 
Saib, "I will not rest until I have had a death revenge for what I 
have suffered !" 

" And what of the boy Richard, as they call him ?" asked the 
Earl. 

" He shall not escape," returned the black : " the brat has become 
my bane, my spell, my curse. Did he not thwart me in my scheme 
of vengeance ?" 

" True ; but is that your only motive for wishing to dispatch 
him ?" 

"Why do you ask the question, when you know it is not?" 
returned Saib. " Do you wish to retain the estates of Fitzosbert ?" 

"But do you still think that this boy is " , .,,-■ 

" Your brother's son, Julian, the right heir to the proud earldom 
and estates of Fitzosbert. Oft have I watched his countenance 
narrowly, and traced every lineament of his father's features, and 
almost fancied I could see the eyes of the murdered man beaming 
with an expression of reproach through his." 

We will now leave the black, and return once more to the honest 
inhabitants of " The Old Commodore." 

At leng.th the joyful news arrived, that such of the vessels as had 
returned after the engagement, had reached Portsmouth ; and there 
were many anxious hearts in Plymouth on that occasion, and many 
hopes, and doubts, and fears, lest those doar to them should not be 
among those who had survived the battle. 

"Cheer up, my lass, cheer up," said old Mat to his daughter; "I 
feel confident that those we love are quite safe." 

"Heaven grant that it may be so!" ejaculated the dame. 

Ellen responded to the prayer. 

All that night Ellen slept but little ; and when she did, dreams of 
the most perplexing description haunted her imagination. She arose 
at an early hour, and walked down to the sea-beach. Her eyes 
watched with great interest the noble vessels in the port, and her 
thoughts were wholly occupied with the image of her lover. She 



GALLANT TOM. 89 

was suddenly aroused from thought by the sound of loud shouts of 
merriment ; and, on looking in the direction irom whence they 
seemed to proceed, her heart leaped with joy and expectation, when 
she perceived a posse of sailors and females going towards her 
father's house. 

With hurried steps, she made her way home, and looked anxiously 
amoiiiz: the group, wliich had by that time assembled outside of the 
house ; but the object of her search was not among them, and hei 
heart sunk with despair. 

" What ship, messmate ?" inquired Mat, of the first one to whom 
he could get an opportunity of speaking. 

"The Vanguard." was the reply. 

'' Oh !" exclaimed Mat, " then mayhap you can tell us whether 
Gallant Tom and Richard " 

" They are both safe and hearty, and on their way here by this 
time, I dare say," answered the sailor. 

Ellen uttered a scream of joy, and raised her head in thankfulness 
to heaven. 

"Ah! his sister; il suppose," said the sailor. 

Some person whispered that it was Gallant Tom's sweetheart. 

" Avast there !" cried the man, " that can't be — for didn't we leave 
Tom at Portsmouth with his sweetheart? — and precious loving they 
seemed together too; and no wonder either — for, damme, she must 
be a woman every inch of her, or she never would hav^e assumed 
the disguise of a man for the purpose of Ibllowing him!" 

A piercing shriek prevented the sailor from saying any more, and 
Ellen sunk insensible into the arms of her father. 

" Good God !" cried Mat, in a tone of agony ; " this intelligence, 
true or false, has killed my poor girl !" 

Mat Marlinspike bore the insensible form of his daughter into the 
house ; and the dame, in a state of the utmost agitation, sought 
every means to restore her; but for sometime all her efforts were 
ineffectual ; and when she did partially recover, her brain wandered, 
and. looking vacantly around the apartment, she exclaimed — 

"Where is he ? — the deceiver! He dare not meet my gaze ! — 
and she, too! — ah! — there she stands ! She mocks and laughs at 
me ! — And now she presses her lips to his with all the fervor of im- 
passioned fondness ! By lieaven, I cannot endure it ! Do not hold 
me ! I will tear her from him — he is mine ! sworn to me in the face 
of Heaven! Off!— off, I say!" 

Her father tried hard to persuade her not to place any confidence 
in what the sailor had said, who, probably, only intended it for a 
joke, seeing the anxiety she had betrayed when he mentioned her 
lover; but Ellen shook her head mournfully; and Mat himself was 
too doubtful that the sailor had spoken truth to urge his opinion 
further: in fact, he had, after Ellen had been removed, questioned 
the man more particularly, and he related all the circumstances 
that had occurred on board the vessel, in the same manner as we 
have detailed them before, with the exception of the one important 
fact, that Rosina had discovered in Tom her long-lost brother; but 



40 GAI.T.AN'T TOM. 

with that none were acquainted but themselves, and thus th« infer 
ence the sailors had drawn was a reasonable one. The companions 
of the man also confirmed his statement ; and Mat, upon the- testi- 
mony of so many, could not do otherwise than believe, although he 
could not reconcile it to his knowledge of Tom's honest and gene- 
rous character, to think that he could heartlessly abandon that girl 
whom he had made such protestations Df affection to for another ; 
but he hoped that he would yet be able, and that shortly, to give 
some satisfactory explanation of his conduct. 

The day passed away, and still Tom nor Richard did not return. 
Mat and his wife became very uneasy, and began to think that the 
sailor had either duped ihem, or was mistaken, and that they had 
both fallen in the engagement. It would be impossible to do ade- 
quate justice to the sufferings of the good old couple, as this idea 
darted across their imagination ; but they took especial care to con- 
ceal their fears from Ellen, whose life, they felt convinced, would 
yield to the shock. 

In the meantime, Tom and Richard, with Rosina and Patty, had 
been in the vicinity of " The Commodore" for the last two days ; 
but until they had arranged the important business which occupied 
their minds, and Rosina had been placed in a secure retreat for the 
present, Tom judged it prudent not to make his appearance to his 
friends, notwithstanding he was anxious to see them. They had 
imparted the secret of their consanguinity to Richard, but strictly 
enjoined him to silence. 

At length, Rosina succeeded in getting apartments in the house of 
a lady with whom she was acquainted, and upon whose friendship she 
could depend, and then Tom, with a heart full of hope and ecstacy, 
hastened towards the residence of her on whom his soul doted, ac- 
companied by Richard. 

"Hilly yeo ! hilly yeo!" shouted the elated tar, when he reached 
the door, and gave it two or three hearty knocks with his fist; 
"house! house ! The prettyEllen, ahoy. Shiver my timbers, Dick, how 
my heart throbs as I gaze upon the old spot again; it is just the same 
as when I last saw it ; no, it is not the same, for then there were sad 
faces around ; but now, all looks cheerful and sunny. Ah ! there's 
the old honey-suckle still climbing the casement ; the old beach where 
I cut my name, and that of my darling Ellen, and a couple of hearts, 
with a cupid's arrow, about the length of a marlinspike, thrust 
through them ; and, hark ! there's the old clock ticking in the parlor, 

as though it were uttering a welcome to me, and • — but, damme, 

what a fool 1 am to stand palavering here — what, ho ! ship ahoy ! 
Mat ' 

Ere the honest tar could finish the sentence the door was thrown 
open, and Richard was locked in the arms of Mat and the dame. 

'Mat! dame!' cried Tom, in a transport of delight, grasping the 
hands of the worthy old couple, and the big tears of joy stealing down 
his manly cheek, ' let's shake your fins, I'm so glad to see you ; — I — I 
—ah! Ellen, my own, my pretty Ellen!' 



GALLANT TOM. 41 

The poor girl could not speak, but, uttering a cry of uncontrolla- 
ble delight, she rushed into the arms of her lover. 

'Ellen ! Ellen !' exclaimed the overjoyed tar, as he pressed warm 
kisses on her lips, her cheeks, and her forehead, and parting the silken 
tresses from her forehead, looked into her eyes with intense adora- 
tion ; ' oh, what a happy moment is this ! I — I could laugh — I could 
cry — I — I — damme, what a fool I am making of myself! But, eh ! — 
why you are pale ; — you look ill ! Why do you not speak to me ? 
Not a word to your own Tom — your faithful Tom, after so long a 
separation ? Why do you look so strangely at me? Mat! dame! 
speak to her — tell me what does this mean ?" 

Ellen withdrew herself from his arms; she gazed upon him with 
mysterious earnestness ; she tried to speak : her lips moved but the 
words stitled in her throat, and, uttering a groan of agony, she fell 
senseless to the earth. In a state of distraction Tom rushed towards 
her, and raising her frantically in his arms, called wildly upon her 
name. 

'Mat! dame!' he cried, 'do not drive me to madness! — what 
does this mean? What has happened ? Tell me; I beseech you.' 

'Bear her into the house,' said Mat to his wife. 'Tom, a few 
words will explain this ; and Heaven send that it may be in your 
power to quiet our doubts and apprehensions, or it will break the 
heart of my poor girl.' 

'Doubts ! apprehensions !' repeated Tom ; ' Good God ! what ■' 

Mat interrupted him, and drawing him aside, in as few words as 
possible, mformed him of what they had been told. 

' Ah !' exclaimed Tom when he had concluded, ' is it so ? I did 
not foresee this !' 

'Tell me, Tom,' said Mat, with extreme emotion, 'have we been 
told aright?' 

' You have, you have — but not all ; the — the — I shall choke !' 
And you love this female ?' 

' As my own soul,' answered the distracted sailor : ' It is my 
duty to do so. But, Heaven can bear witness that my sentiments 
are unchanged towards Ellen ; that— but I cannot explain any far- 
ther at present ! I — ' 

' Enough, enough, Tom,' interrupted Mat, with a look of agony 
and reproach. ' Hestven pardon you ; but the death of my poor 
girl is upon your head !' 

As the old man thus spoke, he rushed into the house, and left Tom 
paralysed to the spot with astonishment and agony. 

Tom stood for a few minutes, after the old man had left him, in a 
comi)lete state of stupor ; his brain seemed to whirl round, and a 
mist to float before his eyes ; at length, starting, he exclaimed, — 

'Damme! surely I have been dreaming! My mizen top is out 
of order ; my — my — oh, shiver my timbers, I cannot stand this I — I 
will rush into the presence of Ellen, and explain all. Fool ! how 
can I, unless I would break my oath, and perhaps, render all the plans 
to gair retribution for my sister and a restitution of her rights abor- 
tive ? And, without I unfold everything, how can I do away with 



42 GALLANT TOM. » 

the suspicions of the poor girl? It will break I'ler heait. No, no ; I 
will not seek an interview with her until the violence of her grief 
is somewhat calmed, and she may listen to me dispassionately. Oh, 
Ellen, never could I believe you would doubt the faith of him who 
would readily sacrifice his life to secure your happiness." 

As the noble-hearted youth thus soliloquized, he cast his eyes up 
towards the casement of the apartment' which he knew was appro- 
priated to Ellen, and breathing a sigh, walked slowly from the spot. 

'Alas, Tom,' he ruminated, as he bent his steps he knew not 
whither, 'little did you expect such a reception as this when you re- 
turned to England. You thought to meet with nothing but welcome 
smiles and open hands ; and, to be greeted with the fondest delight 
by that little craft, to which your heart has ever been as true as the 
needle to the pole. But the gallant vessel which my ardent aflec- 
tions had launched upon the sea of hope, has struck upon the rock of 
disappointment, and threatened to founder in the ocean of despair. 
But — but what a lubberly swab I am making of myself; it will only 
be a few days, and I shall be able to explain, everything, and we shall 
be once mpre happy. Oh, yes ; our happiness will be ten fold ; for 
I shall be rich, and able to make the dear a lady! Yes, my Nell 
shall ride in her carriage ; and — oh, damme ! won't she look as hand- 
some as a seventy-four scudding lightly before the wind ?" 

In the mean time, the object of Tom's anxious thoughts remained 
in a mrtst pitiable condition confined to her chamber. At times she 
Would rave of her lover, and accuse him of infidelity, in the most 
wild and affecting manner ; then she would be more calm, and speak 
of him and their love in the nwst heart-rending tones of affection. 

We need not attempt to describe the anguish of her friends at the 
sufferings she was thus enduring. A thousand times did they up- 
braid tiie cruelty and infidelity of Tom, who, they believed, could 
thus coolly render himself the cause of bringing Ellen to a premature 
grave. Narrowly did Mat and his wife question Richard on the sub- 
ject ; but he was faithful to the promise he had made Rosina and 
Tom, and would hot divulge anything that he knew, but earnestly 
endeavored to convince his benefactors that they wronged him, by 
supi)osing for a moment that his sentiments were in the least changed, 
and that a very short time, probably w^ould explain everything to 
their satisfaction. Mat shook his head incredulously, and, after once 
more urging Richard to tell him all he knew, and expressing in se- 
vere terms, his disn]~»pi'obation of what he called the lad's obstinacy, 
he left him to himself. 

Several days passed away in this manner, and still they heard 
nothing from Tom. The delirium had entirely left- Ellen, and her 
grief had settled into a calm melancholy, which showed at once 
that, although she Had tried ha I'd to stitie her real feelings, and to 
put on the semblance of resignation, her heart had received a blow 
from which only one circumstance could restore her, namely, indu- 
bitable proof of his constancy. 

At that period; there was, at no great distance from the town, the 
mansion of a nobleman, which had a beautiful park and gardens at- 



GALLANT TOM. 43 

tai lied to it, which were open free to the public. This was Ellen's 
fav 'vite place ; and there for hours would she remain, rambling be- 
neai'i the umbrageous foliage of the stately trees, or settled upon the 
green sward, give herself up to melancholy rumination. 

It happened, that one day, about a month after Tom's return to 
Plvmouth, the damsel, having been taking her customary walk in 
the park, felt tired, and consequently seated herself on a bench, fixed 
to the trunk of one of the trees, to rest herself She had not been 
maiiv minutes there, when she heard voices proceeding from behind 
the very tree at which she was seated. Some strange and unac- 
countable foreboding darted across her mind, and caused her to listen 
with breathless curiosity. The first words she could distinguish 
were spoken in the voice of a female, and were to the following 
effect :— '^" 

' Oh, dearest Tom, would indeed that the happy moment of which 
you speak had arrived ; but, alas ! even now, although I have hith- 
erto been so sanguine, I fear that something will come to thwart 
our wishes.' 

* Nonsense, my dear girl,' replied the man : ' this is a weakness ot 
which I did hot think you capable ; depend upon it, that a few days 
only will elapse ere we shall see the realization of our fondest hopes, 
and then we shall be indissolubly united.' 

The heart of Ellen beat heavily against her side; her brain seem- 
ed to be on fire ; and she felt a sensation as though she should be 
suffocated. She could no longer delay the gratification of her pain- 
ful curiosity ; but, gazing from behind the tree, beheld Tom, press- 
ing to his heart the tall and elegant form of a female. 

raralyzed to the spot with astonishment, the helpless damsel stood 
and gazed upon them ; but siie uttered no sigh, — she showed no 
signs of emotion. No ; her sentiments in that moment seemed to 
undergo a terrible change ; she felt as if her heart was frozen into 
stone, and bitter hate and revenge took possession of the place which 
had previously been occupied with gentle passions. She felt that if 
she had a weapon about her, she would not hesitate or shrink from 
destroying her supposed rival. It seems impossible that the feelings 
of any one could in so short a time undergo so extraordinary a re- 
volution. 

The back of the female was turned towards her, so that she could 
not ol)serve her face, i)ut she thought that the voice sounded fami- 
liar to her. .She was all anxiety to see her features ; but she did not 
turn, and Ellen could not go from her place of concealment without 
recalling herself to Tom, which she did not wish to do at that mo- 
ment. She listened attentively tor some time, thinking she might be 
entitled to overhear some more of their conversation ; but it was car- 
ried on in such a low tone, that she could only catch a word here 
and there, and they were not of a description to afford her any in- 
formation. Shortly afterwards they moved away, and she watched 
them till they left the park, when they were suddenly hidden from 
her view. 

As they disappeared Ellen stood still for a second or two, and ga- 



44 GALLANT TOM. 

zing vacantly in the direction they had taken, burst into a wild I ys- 
terical laugh, and turned towards the path which led to her hor ^e. 

In the meantime, the Earl Fitzosbert and the hateful blaclc had 
been indefatigable in their endeavors to discover the retreat of Ro- 
sina, but without success ; and Saib's impatience had become almost 
insupportable. So fully had his mind been occupied in the above 
mentioned manner, that he had not a moment scarcely to turn his 
thoughts to anything else ; but, when he had, they were devoted to 
a dark scheme of vengeance he was forming against those whom he 
detested, more especially Tom and Richard. Theirreturn had soon 
been made known to him; but the story which had reached the ears 
of Ellen and her parents in so fatal a manner, concerning the fe- 
male who had followed Tom in the ship in disguise, he had fortu- 
nately not heard of, or else, perhaps, his suspicions might have been 
aroused, and he might have discovered the retreat of Rosina, and 
committed some outrage, before proper steps could have been^aken 
to frustrate his designs. 

Notwithstanding all the precautions Saib had taken to keep his 
return to England a secret for the present, it very "soon became 
known, and created astonishment in the minds of Tom and the other 
sailors, who never thought it possible that he could escape with his 
life, from the fate to which he had been consigned for his diabolical 
attempt. 

A fortnight had now elapsed since the sailors had returned to 
Plymouth ; and, during that interval, the earl and Saib had expe- 
rienced no change, neither could they hear anything of her they 
sought. The earl in fact, was very well contented that the affair 
should remain as it was, hoping that something had happened to her 
so that her fortune, which was in his keeping, would be entirely his. 
At times the impatience of Saib alarmed him, for he would throw 
out his suspicions that the earl was trying to deceive him, and that 
he knew what had become of Rosina. The earl dreaded Saib, for 
he was in his power ; and he knew full well, that if his revenge or 
hatred was once aroused, he would not hesitate to risk his own life 
to gratify it. Often since his return, and the account he had given 
of his narrow escape from death, he regretted that he had not per- 
ished, for he was the only person who knew of the dark deeds of his 
life ; and, had he have died, all fears of detection would have ceased 
to torment him. What need he to fear from tne boy, Richard, even 
supposing him to be what he suspected ? He was ignorant of it, and 
who dare accuse him of a crime of which there was no living evi- 
dence ? 

It was evening, and the earl and Saib were seated in the library. 
It was very evident that they were both much excited, and had been 
quarrelling. At length Saib, who had been traversing the room 
with disordered steps, turned to his master and said, — 

" Then, as we have failed to succeed, Rosina is most likely dead, 
and you will hear no more of her, why hesitate to give me my fair 
share of 4.he money you now hold in your hands ?" 



GALLANT TOM 4$ 

'• Divide t'nat which is not mine .'" 

"Ay! But you are growing scrupulous, my Lord Fitzosbert : 
you were not wont to be so, or the title and estates of your noble 
name would not now have been yours. I ask nothing but what is 
♦'air. I have run many risks to serve you, and am still willing to run 
more : and, surely, you cannot have any reasonable objection to give 
me half of that which I should have had the whole, had Rosina been 
my wife ?" 

The Earl, whom the reasoning of Saib had bewildered, had not 
time to return any answer to his speech, for, suddenly, the attention 
of both was drawn to a loud noise which seemed to proceed from 
the hall, accompanied with the confused sound of several voices all 
speaking together. Hasty footsteps approached the room. The 
next moment the door was thrown back on its hinges ; and, bowing, 
ironically, and hitching up his stock. Gallant Tom stood in the pre- 
sence of the astonished Earl Fitzosbert and Saib. 

" Tom Clewline !" exclaimed the black, while his eyes rolled 
fiercely upon him, and he felt in his bosom for his knife, as though 
he contemplated the satiation of the mortal hatred which he enter- 
tained for the sailor ; but he was unarmed, while Tom had a brace 
of pistols in his belt, and was everyway prepared for anything that 
might occur, and to meet any danger with resistance. 

" Yes, my black shark, it is your old friend Tom Clewline !" an- 
swered the latter, with a sarcastic grin. "I have come to pay my 
respects to you, although I never expected to have the pleasure of 
coming athwart your hawse again. Earl Fitzosbert, your most 
obedient ; you and I have got a little business to settle together, and 
so I'll just take a seat, if you please." 

With these words, Tom coolly drew a chair opposite the Earl, 
and, sitting down, gazed with the utmost nonchalance, alternately 
upon him and Saib. 

" What means this insolent intrusion ?"' at length demanded Fitzos- 
bert, haughtily. " Leave the room immediately, fellow I" 

" Don'f be in a passion, Earl Thingamyjig, — damme, what's your 
name ? — you noblemen have such devilish long ones, that it takes a 
fellow a day nearly to pronounce half a dozen of them. As for 
j)alaver about insolence, you can better belay it as soon as possible; 
but as regards calling me fellow, you're not much out there, I be- 
lieve ; for, if I am to believe what my messmates tell me, they say 
I am as honest and jolly a fellow as any in the ship's company. 
Now, your lordship, if you can truly state as much in your log-book, 
I am very much mistaken, that is all." ^ 

The Earl was sq completely taken by surprise at the abrupt en- 
trance of Tom and his bold behavior, that he could not speak for 
some moments. At length, somewhat recovering himself. His first 
impulse was to ring the bell for a servant. Tom jumped from his 
seat and prevented him, saying — 

" Avast, there ! no piping all hands yet — our conversation must 
be of a j)rjvate nature, unless you like to let that black lubber be 



^ GALLANT TOM. 

made acquainted with it, why he can stay : I believe he has a pretty 
good knowledjre of all your secrets !" 

" My lord !" cried the enraged black, "will you tamely brook this 
insolence from the uncouth varlet ?" 

" Varlet ! you damned figure-head of the devil !" cried the indig- 
nant sailor, darting toward Saib, and his eyes glancing fiercely upon 
him : " I caution you not to make use of such a term again, or may I 
never be able to crack a biscuit again, if I don't make a passage 
through your skull in the twisting of a handspike !" 

" Ruffian !" exclaimed the Earl, as Tom presented his pistols at 
the black ; " what do you mean by thus forcing yourself into my 
presence ?" 

"Oh, you shall soon know," replied Tom. 

Tile Earl felt a strange, trembling sensation, and placed his hand 
upon the back of a chair to support himself. 

" Do you know a person of the name of Rosina Burlington ?" 
inquired Tom. 

" Ah, Rosina !" cried the Earl, while Saib's eyes seemed as though 
they would start from their sockets : " how dare you — what have 
you to do with her ?" 

" More than you expect. You was her captain, I believe, — that 
is to say, you was guardian ?" 

" This is past endurance !" cried Fitzosbert : " have you come here 
to insult and intimidate me ?" 

''I come here for justice," returned Tom; "and it'll be very 
strange if I don't have it before I leave you. But come, belay your 
wrath and take it coolly, for it's no more use getting out of temper 
with me than trying to batter in the sides of a seventy-four with a 
pop-gun. Your charge has slipped her cable for some time — de- 
serted, eh ?" 

The Earl made no answer. 

" Silence gives consent. Well, she must have deserted him. I 
come to tell you news of her." 

"News of her!'' ejaculated the Earl. "Impossible! but where 
has she been all this while ?" 

" Under the protection of her brother," replied Tom. 

The Earl turned ghastly pale for a second, and reiterated Tom's 
words ; but then recovering himself, he turned upon him a look of 
f.he most ineffable scorn. 

" Aye, you may scorn my assertions," observed Tom ; " but it 
shall not be long before you shall be convinced of their truth. I 
rep<jat, that she has been, and is now, under the protection of her 
long-lost brother, who always thought that they were the children 
of the fisherman, Brandon. You know the rest, and, therefore, I 
need not tell you. You seem thunder-struck. Earl Fitzosbert ; and 
well you may ; but I have not half done with you yet." 

" "This is only a plan to extort money from me, and shall not go 
unpunished," said the Earl : " the boy you speak of was lost many 
years ago, and has, without a doubt, long since been dead, or he must 



I 



GALLANT TOM, 47', 

ha"e been restored to his father, after the many inquiries that have 
been made about him." 

"It is false — he lives!" cried Tom, rising from his chair, — 'he 
lives, to protect his sister, and to tell the Earl Fitzosbert that he is a 
villain !" 

" Ah ! dare you ?" 

" Dare I ! — to such a land-lubber as you ? Why, I have dared to 
meet the enemy when death and horror surrounded me on every 
side ; and it would be strange indeed if I was now to be afraid to 
call such a thing as you by his right name ! You now hold in trust 
property that of right belongs to the persons that 1 have named : 
are you pre|)ared to restore it, or to render a good account of it ?" 

" Unparalleled insolence I" cried Fitzosbert ; " and what right have 
you to demand it ?" 

"A brother's right," replied Tom. 

" You — you !" gasped forth the astonished Earl, while the agita- 
tion of Saib was plainly visible in the distortion of his frightful 
countenance. 

" Why, you seem surprised, my worthy swabs !" exclaimed Tom, 
sarcastically ; " but, do not doubt me, for you will too soon, most 
likely, have cause to know that I am speaking the truth. Earl 
Fitzosbert, in me, I repeat, you behold the long supposed fisherman's 
son, who was lost when a boy, and never expected to be heard of 
again. But, you see. Providence has kept a watch over me, and I 
am still afloat, and prepared to give that poor girl, whom you sup- 
posed to be quite friendless, the protection she so much needs. Nay, 
you may frown ; but, damme, I care nothing for your black looks : 
you have acted as a cowardly, unmannerly villain, and would now, 
if you could, rob her out of that which justly belongs to her ; but 
if you don't render a good account of yourself, and restore every 
coin, may I never chew pig-tail again, if I don't pull your house 
about your ears, and " 

"Ah! am I to be insulted in my own house by this impudent ruf- 
fian ?" exclaimed the Earl, in a great passion. 

" I shall not take your titles angrily," said the honest tar, with the 
utmost coolness ; " for a bad word from the mouth of such as you 
must be taken as a compliment ; but, otherwise, if 1 did, I should 
make you cry peccavi in no time. I tell you what it is, I came 
here for the purpose of seeing whether you are prepared to pay this 
money without any fuss, to save the trouble of employing a lawyer; 
and, moreover, to see whether you are willing to make an apology 
to me for the manner in which you treated my sister ; but as you 
have not shown any intention of doing one or the other, why " 

" By heavens ! 1 will not put up with this !" cried the enraged 
Earl, whom the coolness and perfect sang froid of Tom exasperated 
more than all ; — " and there, Saib, you stand as though you were 
paralyzed, and do not offer to aid me. ' Leave my house, or you 
shall deeply repent of your insolence and attempt at imposition I 
Leave the house immediately, I say !" 

" Then I shall do no such thing," replied Tom, re-seating; himself. 



48 GALLANT TOM. 

** I have not seen you for a long time, therefore you need not be sur- 
prised if I should make my visit rather a long one. I have a good 
many affectionate inquiries to make, and also some particulars to 
relate, which, perhaps, may be rather interesting to one of you. 
Perhaps you would like to know where Rosina has been all this 
lime ? — if so, I will inform you. On board the same vessel — mark 
you, my black pirate, — on board the very same vessel in which you 
sailed, until you was so justly punished for the monstrous crime 
which you would have committed. Yes, disguised as Joe Gordon, 
she followed me throughout the voyage, and was as often by your 
side as any of the crew ; and yet, you see, with all your penetration, 
you could not discover her." 

" Curses light upon my stupidity !" cried the blaCk, in a hoarse, 
guttural voice. " Yes, it must have been her, and that accounts for 
the strange feeling that came over me whenever I was near her, and 
the deep impression her features had upon me ; — fool that I was not 
to know her I" 

"And now. Earl Fitzosbert," said Tom, rising, "I shall leave you, 
the next you will hear of me and Rosina, will be through a lawyer ; 
and you may thank your lucky stars that I have not taken summary 
vengeance on you for your villainous conduct to that poor girl, whom 
you had a right to protect. As for you, you black -swab, the next 
time you are caught at any of your tricks, look out for squalls ; for, 
damme, if you don't keep a good look-out after you, and if 1 catch 
you doing anything wrong, I'll rob the gallows of its due, and send 
you to Davy Jones on the spot." 

Saib bit "his lips, but said nothing, — while Tom, rising from his 
chair, hitched up his trousers, and, bowing sarcastically to them 
both, moved towards the door. 

" Hold !" suddenly exclaimed the Earl, in a voice o^" much agita- 
tion ; " you shall not leave this place until you have given me further 
particulars of this affair." / 

" I have told you all that I think proper to do, at present," said 
Tom ; " as for my going away, what's to prevent me, I should like 
to know ?" 

" Saib, your aid ! — I command you !" cried the Earl, as he rushed 
furiously towards Tom, who, deliberately taking his pistols from hia 
belt, presented them at him and Saib, and held them both at bay, 
at the same time saying, in a determined manner, — 

"Earl Fitzosbert, again I warn you to keep off; for, may I never 
go aloft again, if either you or your black companion advance but 
one inch further, to prevent my departing from this house, that same 
moment shall be your last." 

After giving utterance to these words, Tom fixed upon the Earl 
and his creature a look of defiance, and gradually retreated from the 
room. The Earl and Saib were about to follow him ; but they 
heard a hearty laugh, which made the walls re-echo again, and, 
looking over the banisters, they found that Tom had come fully pre- 
pared for anything that might take place — for in the hall stood at 
least seven or eight jolly and hardy sons of Neptune, who had given 



GALLANT TOM. 49 

utterance to the laugh of derision and exultation which they had 
heard, at a signal given by Tom. The latter once nnore cast his 
eyes up towards the spot where Fitzosbert and Saib were standing : 
then, beckoning to his companions, the door was opened, and they 
quitted the house. 

For a moment after Tom and his companions left the place, the 
Earl and his guilty myrmidon were transfixed to the spot, and gazed 
upon each other in speechless astonishment ; at length the former 
starting suddenly, and looking towards the staircase, exclaimed, — 

" Why was the villain, the bold-faced beggar, suffered to escape? 
Have I, indeed, sunk so low, that even a low-born wretch like this 
sailor shall presume to beard me in my own house ; and — but I 
forgot — he said he was the brother of Rosina, did he not ? Impos- 
sible ! It is all a vile plot, for the purpose of extorting money from 
me, but it shall not succeed." 

Saib shook his head, and replied, — 

" I am afraid, my lord, Tom's words are true ; and you may per- 
ceive that the likeness between him and Rosina is very strong, when 
you come to look closer to them. A thousand curses light upon the 
chance which made this discovery — or that I had not contrived 
some means to silence him forever, while we were on board the 
same vessel together !" 

The Earl bit his lips, and, folding his arms, paced the room with 
hasty and disordered steps ; at length, turning suddenly to Saib, he 
said, — 

" If, then, this is really the brother of Rosina Burlington, and no 
doubt he would not make so bold an assertion without being in pos- 
session of unquestionable proof that he is so, all our schemes, as far 
as the damsel is concerned, are at an end, and the readiest way to 
escape the public odium that would be sure to fall upon me is to 
pay over the money at once, and for you to resign all hopes of Ro- 
sina, whom you could never have anticipated getting possession of, 
but by force." 

" Resign Rosina ? — never ! By hell, 1 would sooner lose my life, 
after what I have hazarded to gain the consummation of my wishes ! 
Earl Fitzosbert, you are becoming a coward ! Resign not a far- 
thing, I beseech you, until it has been fairly sued for. What ! would 
you give this bold and insolent youth the means of boasting that he 
had frightened you out of it ? Pshaw ! become a man again, and 
doubt not it will yet be your fortune to triumph, — at any rate it 
shall not be any fault of mine if you do not." 

"Alas! Saib," replied the Earl, in a gloomy tone, "lately a heavy 
weight has seemed to press upon my heart, and I have not the spirit 
that I was wont. My thoughts have been haunted with terrible 
forebodings, and I have had a dream " 

"Dreams!" interrupted the black, with, a bitter sneer; "bah! — •, 
my lord, 1 am ashamed of you : you are worse than a child. Come, 
you must banish these sickly ideas from your memory." 

" I would I could do so," observed the Earl ; " but they gain more 
strength every day. You mock me, when [ talk to you of the 

4 



56 GALLANT TOM. 

visions that haunt my pillow. Oh, would that I could treat them as 
lightly, Saib! You cannot form any conception of their horror. 

Last night I dreamed too that my 1 cannot, dare not, speak 

the name, was alive, and had come here to hurl me from my ill- 
gotten grandeur, and to demand retribution upon my head." 

" I have no patience with this preposterous nonsense !" cried Saib ; 
"and yet you are continually bothering me with your idle fears and 
imaginations ! I tell you from your brother you have nothing to 
fear ; long ere this, he has become nothing but dust. Come, come ; 
you must arouse yourself, my lord, from this weakness, and learn 
once more to be a man. At any rate, I am determined not to resign 
my prey so easily as they probably imagine I will ; and if I cannot 
accomplish my wishes, I will take care that I will not fail in having 
vengeance." 

" There has already been too much bloodshed ; and I would that 
what we seek could be effected without adopting such sanguinary 
measures," observed the Earl. 

" Why, my lord," returned Saib, " the visit of this sea-shark seems 
to have quite unnerved you. What have we to fear from him ?" 

" If he is really the brother of Rosina, everything," answered 
Fitzosbert. 

" Pshaw!" ejaculated the black, impatiently ; "this is ridiculous. 
Should Tom prove himself to be the brother of the girl, what more 
can he do to you than compel you to restore the money you now 
hold in trust, as Rosina's guardian ?" 

" And where will then be your hopes ?" demanded the Earl. 

" Leave that to me," returned the black ; "for the present, let us 
endeavor to devise some means to discover the retreat of Rosina." 

"That will avail us nothing if we do," said the Earl; "for she 
has now an efficient protector, and any outrage committed by us, 
would sure to be punished." 

" Punished !" sneered Saib ; "well, be it so; but Fll take especial 
care that they do not punish me for doing nothing; — my enemies 
hall have good cause to repent of having aroused my wrath. But 
for the present, I leave you, my lord, as you are in no fit mood to 
discuss this subject. When we meet again, I hope you may have 
recovered from the nervous debility which at present afflicts you." 

Saib uttered these last words with a sarcastic smile, and an ex- 
pression of countenance which showed that he held the Earl in utter 
defiance and contempt ; then bowing formal, left him to his re- 

riection. 

****** 

In the meantime, Ellen, m the solitude of her chamber, gave way 
to the violence of her anguish, caused by the supposed faithlessness 
of Tom, and was deaf to all the endeavors of her parents to console 
her. 

In the midst of this bitter suffering, her mother entered the apart- 
ment, and presented her with a letter. Her heart throbbed violent- 
ly against her side, and her hand trembled as she took the letter from 
her mother, in whose countenance there was a mingled expression 



GALLANT TOM. 61 

of anxiety, hope, and fear. She looked at the superscription, her 
heart seemed to rise to her throat, and she had the utmost difficulty 
in breathing. Well did she know the hand-writing — th^ letter was 
from Tom. For a moment or two she stood hesitating how to act. 
For a moment a mist seemed to rise before her eyes, and she could 
not read a word ; and in a voice choked with emotion she said, put- 
ting the letter into her mother's hand, 

' I — I cannot read it ; dear mother — you — 

She could not finish the sentence; but her mother understood what 
she meant, and she proceeded to read the billet doux. It was couched 
in the most affectionate terms, and, after energetically expressing the 
sorrow he had causeil her, owing to his not being at liberty to enter 
into an explanation before, he protested in glowing colors, the strength, 
the unabated ardor of his passion for her, and then went on to give 
a full explanation of what has already been related, concealing, how- 
ever, the name of his sister, but promising to present her to Ellen, on 
an assurance of her forgiveness. 

The poor girl listened to this letter in profound astonishment, and 
fixed her eyes vacantly upon her mother without uttering a word ; 
but when she had come to the conclusion she suddenly snatched the 
letter from her, and with eager eyes retraced every sentence. 

" Yes, yes, it is so," she said in a voice of delirious joy ; " he is 
still faithful to me ; oh, what an injustice I have done him !" 

With frantic ecstacy she pressed the letter again and again to her 
lips, and placing her head on her mother's shoulder, the intensity of 
her feelings found relief in a copious flood of tears. 

Her mother did not offer to interrupt her ; and indeed her joy was 
so great at the prospect of a reconciliation being effected between 
Ellen and Tom, that she was too overpowered to speak. 

" But why do I stand here ?" exclaimed Ellen, suddenly starting 
from her mother's side, and wiping away the tears that glistened 
like drops of crystal on her eyelids ; " let me hasten to him, to as- 
sure him of my love, and crave his pardon for having ventured to 
doubt his faith. I cannot, I will not rest until I have seen him." 

As she spoke she hurried down the stairs, followed by her mother; 
she reached the parlor, and scarcely had she done so, when the door 
was thrown open ; — there was a cry of joy, and Ellen found herself 
locked in the fond embrace of her faithful lover. 

" My Ellen, my dearest, my pretty Ellen, look up and smile upon 
me !" exclaimed the gallant sailor, as he pressed still closer to his 
bosom the form of his love, and imprinted kisses the most impas- 
.sioned upon her lips : " It is Tom, your own faithful Tom ! Poor 
girl ! her feelings have overpowered her ; she does not hear me — she 
looks like a sleeping angel, or a moonbeam upon the ocean I Ellen, 
dear Ellen, speak to me !" 

But Ellen still remained unconscious of all around ; and with dif- 
ficulty her mother persuaded Tom to resign her to her care ; but 
nothing could induce him to leave the room until she was recovered, 

A few minutes served to revive her, and opening her eyes, and 
looking vacantly into the countenance of her mother, she said, — 



52 GALLANT TOM. 

"Oh, mother, I have had such a sweet dream ; too delightful, in- 
deed, to be realized. Methought that Tom had returned to me, and 
assured me of his constancy, and that" — 

" My dearest lass, it was no dream," exclaimed her lover rushing 
forward, and once more enfolding her in his arms ; " your Tom is 
here to assure you of his Constancy, and kiss his recollection upon 
your lips." 

" Ah ! then you have not deceived me, Tom ?" ejaculated the dam- 
sel, while her countenance beamed with love and transport ; " you 
are still the same true and faithful Tom that you professed to be ?" 

" Still the same, Ellen," returned Tom ; " oh, how could you doubt 
me ? How could you imagine that I could be the villain to deceive 
you ? — that I could suffer another to supplant me in your heart ? 
This, this was not like my Ellen. Oh, my dear girl, nothing could 
ever have induced me to suspect your constancy. No, never would 
I have done you the injustice to suppose that, after the many vows 
you have pledged to me, you could prove untrue ! Oh, Ellen, did 
you but know my feelings — could you but read my heart as I can 
yours, in your pretty eyes that twinkled upon me with such lustre, 
— you would see how fondly, how sincerely, how devotedly, my heart 
is attached to you, and you alone. Though many miles have sepa- 
rated us, still have you always been present to my thoughts : nothing 
could have erased you from my memory. In the dreary waich, in 
the raging storm, in battle's heat, my Ellen was never absent from 
my mind ; and it was her dear image which nerved me on to deeds 
of valor, and to smile at danger. When sleep closed my eyelids, 
then would delightful visions take me back to this loved spot, and 
imagination would give me a repetition of all my former happiness; 
and yet, mv Ellen, to imagine that I could prove untrue to her, 
and " ' 

" Oh, Tom," interrupted Ellen, while her eyes beamed with all 
that ardent affection which her heart prompted, "reproach me not, 
although too well I feel I deserve it. I should not have doubted 
you : I ought to have known my Tom better ; but some strange 
infatuation took possession-of my senses, and then that dreadful tale, 
and the female with whom I saw you, all conspired to make me think 
you perfidious, although my heart was almost broken in admitting 
what I thought to be the fataf truth." 

" Ah ! did you then see us together ?" asked Tom, eagerly. 

" I saw you with a female in the gardens of Sir Richard Overton," 
answered Ellen ; "nay, more, I overheard you breathe to her words 
of the utmost tenderness of love, — I saw you press your lips to 
her's. Judge, then, Tom, whether your Ellen had not a sufficient 
cause to imbibe suspicion ?" 

"You said you heard all this," remarked Tom, "and yet the 
female was not recognized by you ?" 

" Her back was towards me, so that 1 did not see her features," 
replied Ellen. " Oh, Tom, how shall I describe my feelings at that 
time ? I shudder, even now, when I recollect them ; a dreadful 
change had in a moment come over my heart ; and yes, Tom, well 



GALLANT TOM. 53 

may you start — at that moment I could have become a murderess! 
I could have plunged a knife into the heart of my supposed rival, 
and exulted at the deed !" 

Tom did indeed shudder when he reflected upon the dreadful 
catastrophe which might have taken place. Again he pressed his 
love still more closely to his bosom, and imprinted kisses of delight 
upon her lips. 

"Ellen," said he, "you had indeed occasion to hoist the yellow 
flag ; you had apparently sufficient cause for suspicion ; but had 
you heard the whole of the conversation that passed between us, 
you would have ascertained that that female was my newly dis 
covered sister." 

" Your sister ?"' 

" Aye, my dearest lass," returned Tom, — " my own fond sister, 
whom, next to my Ellen, I love with all the ardor that can possibly 
be fell • — that sister who is prepared to love the destined bride of 
her brother with that strength and sincerity which only such noble 
minds as her's is capable of feeling." 

" Her name ?" anxiously gasped forth the maiden. 

" She is here to answer for herself," said Tom, throwing open the 
parlor door ; " behold !" 

" Rosina Burlington I" ejaculated Ellen, witdi mute astonishment, 
as the latter bounded into the room and advanced to embrace her, 
with looks of the utmost ecstacy and attachment. 

" Yes, it is Rosina," answered she, " the cause of all your late 
anguish, but whose constant study shall be to repay you, by her 
future love and attention ; regarding, as she does, with admiration 
and pleasure, the fidelity of your love for a dear brother, from whom 
she has been so long separated." 

As Rosina said this, she offered to embrace Ellen, but the latter 
shrunk back timidly, at the differences of their stations, which 
Rosina perceiving, encouraged her by a look of sweetness which 
was perfectly irresistible ; and the next moment the two beautiful 
females, like two twin graces, were locked in a fervent embrace. 

" Hurrah !" cried Tom, in a transport of delight, and tears of joy 
rushing to his eyes ; "yard-arm to yard-yard. Oh, shiver me, if this 
job won't be the death of me, through downright pleasure ! What 
a happy fellow I shall be, to be sure, to have to divide my affections 
between two such dear creatures ! But, eh — what's the meaning 
of that cloud passing over your lovely countenance, Ellen ? You 
sigh, too ! — come, come, belay that, lass ; the storm has all passed 
over, and there is no cause for sorrow now." 

"Alas, Tom," said Ellen, "your good fortune will be my only 
cause of misery : you will now be rich, and move in that station to 
which your birth entitles you, while the humble Ellen " ,, 

" Elfen," interrupted Tom, hastily, " think you that any change 
of circumstances can alter my sentiments towards you ? By heaven ! 
if riches were to be purchased only by the forfeiture of my Ellen, 
I would sooner be condemned to poverty and the meanest hovel. 
No, no, my dearest girl, you alone it is that forms the principal 



54 GALLANT TOM. 

charm of my life, and, without you, all else would become com- 
pletely valueless to me." 

A happy evening was passed at " The Old Commodore," among 
Mat, his wife, Ellen, and their two guests, the house being closed 
against public visitors, and Rosina particularly keeping out of sight 
of any one that knew her, fearful that the knowledge of her being 
in the neighborhood might reach the ears of those who had, at pre- 
sent, some cause to dread. The heavy care which had formerly 
pressed so heavy upon the heart of Ellen, and clad her features in 
an aspect of gloom, had entirely disappeared ; and happy in the 
confidence of her possessing the love of Tom, she had not a thought 
besides which could cause her the least uneasiness. As for Tom 
and Rosina, they seemed sufficiently happy in seeing the good effects 
this reconciliation had upon Ellen ; and Mat and his ddme did all 
that they possibly could to contribute to the pleasure of those around 
them. 

It was late when Tom and Rosina took their departure, and Mat 
and his family were about to retire to rest, when they were suddenly 
surprised by hearing a loud knocking at the outer-door. 

" Who can this be, at such an hour as this ?" said Mat, as he went 
to the window, up stAirs, and looked out. 

"Who is it that knocks?" he demanded. 

" A traveler who is weary and footsore, and claims the indulgence 
of a night's rest and shelter," was the answer. 

" Humph," said Mat, " it's a pity you could not come before, mas- 
ter ; we are just going to retire, lind I don't know what to say to 
you. I do not recollect your voice — who, and what are you V 

" A stranger to you, I rather think ; and doubtless, to most per- 
sons in this neighborhood, now," answered the man. 

Mat stretched his head out of the window as far as he could, but 
it was so dark that he was unable to make out more than a tal! 
figure apparently enveloped in a mantle, which stood in the door- 
way. Mat hesitated and looked at his wife and daughter, who did 
not encourage him by the expression of their countenances, to com- 
ply with the applicant's wishes. 

" For goodness sake, do not keep me standing here in suspense, or 
I shall faint with exhaustion at your door," said the man, "I assure 
you you have no cause to fear." 

"As lor fear, master," returned Mat, "you musn't come to an old 
seaman to talk about that. W^ell, I e'en chance letting you in, and 
if you play me false, only mind that you are not taken in, that's all." 

Having thus spoken, Mat took the lamp in one hand, and grasping 
a stout stick in the other, descended the stairs, and unbolted the 
door. 

The person who entered was enveloped in a long mantle, and pre- 
sented the tall figure of a man, appaiently about fifty years of age, 
and of noble appearance, but whose clothes were very old, and 
whose countenance, which had evidently once been handsome, had 
an expression of deep melancholy and care. Mat having eyed him 
minutely, and having discovered all these particulars in a moment, 



GALLANT TOM. 55 

handed hiin a chair in the chimney-corner, in which the strangei 
took his seat, and as he did so, sighed deeply. 

" Thanks, my good sir, for this kindness," said he. " I was indeed 
afraid that I should not have obtained a shelter this night : and 
weary as I am, I should never have been able to support it. I am 
very much obliged to you for your kindness." 

"Oh, I need no thanks, sir," returned honest Mai ; "it is indee^, 
seldom that any is turned churlishly away from 'The Old Commo- 
dore.' " 

"The Old Commodore!" repeated the stranger thoughtfully; ah! 
I remember now — but, so near ?' 

" You seem to have traveled far, sir," said Mat inquisitively, after 
having ordered his wife to hasten for a glass of good stiff grog, 
and afterwards to bring forward such refreshments as they had in 
the house, of which there was always an ample store, plain but the 
best quality. 

" You are right," answered the sti-anger ; " I have indeed walked 
many weary miles, and am fatigued and footsore." 

" You are -a stranger in this neighborhood, methinks," observed 
Mat ; " at least, I never remember to have seen you before.'' 

"For many years I have been a stranger to this place," replied 
the man with a sigh ; " but well do I — no matter, the time is past 
now ; and it is perhaps imprudent of me — ah ! the grog !" 

With these broken and unconnected sentences, the stranger, who 
seemed anxious to avoid being questioned, took the glass from the 
hand of the dame, and {tolitely pledging Mat and her, raised it to his 
h'ps and drank heartily, seeming to be refreshed by it. 

Mat observed the behavior of his guest with much curiosity ; 
there was something in his appearance and manners which deeply 
interested him ; and from his noble demeanor, he was confident that 
he had moved in a higher sphere of life. His features, too, particu- 
larly struck him; and there was a something in their expression 
which was ([uife familiar to him ; but he could not at the time call 
to (nind whether he had seen them before, or where. Some heavy 
affliction evidently weighed upon his spirits; for, at intervals he 
seemed perfectly abstracted from all around him, and he frequently 
sighed deejily. He partook greedily of the refreshments which the 
good dame placed before him, and seemed as though he had long 
been fasting. 

The curiosity of the dame was not more excited than that of her 
husband ; but she had no means of gratifying it, for the stranger 
seemed too taciturn to lead them to suppose that they would be able 
to elicit anything from him. 

Having finished his* repast, he looked up, and addressing himself 
to ]\f;it, he said, — 

"Does the Earl Fitzosbert, as he calls himself, (laying particular 
emphasis on the latter words,) still reside in the neighborhood?'' 

Mat answered in the affirmative and added — " You know the 
earl, then ?" 



56' GALLANT TOM. 

"Know liiiT)," cried the slrangev, with much emotion, ''Oh God! 
have I not reason to know the " 

"VIHain you would add, I know," remarked Mat; "and indeed 
you would only speak the truth, if" you did, for he is well known to 
be such here. Respectable persons of his own rank avoid him. If 
you should see him, tell him this is the character old Mat Mar- 
linspike gave you of him, who cares no more about him than he 
would about cracking a biscuit, or swallowing a mouthful of salt 
pork." 

" He is indeed a villain, a most blood-thirsty, treacherous villain !" 
exclaimed the stranger, warmly ; then suddenly checking himself, 
he added, — "but it is growing late ; with your permission I will retire 
to rest." 

Mat immediately took up the lamp, and preceding the stranger up 
the stairs, showed him into the clean and neat chamber in which he 
was to pass the night. 

"Did you not notice the extraordinary likeness ?" observed the 
dame, when he came down stairs again. 

" His fiice is familiar to me ; but for the life of me, 'I can't call to 
mind where I have seen him before," answered Mat. 

"Why. how foolish you must be, not to discover it in a moment. 
Mat," said the dame, priding herself upon her own penetration ; 
"why he is the very image of our Richard. Goodness me, when 
he came in " 

" You are right dame, by jingo," interrupted her husband ; " he is 
exactly like the boy, now I think of it; but what of that ? There 
is nothing at all wonderful in that circumstance, for there are many 
faces alike in this world." 

Mat, however, did feel more than he thought proper to acknow- 
ledge, and he could not get the stranger out of his thoughts the 
whole of the night ; even in his dreams his form was again present- 
ed to his imagination, and he awoke in the morning more anxious 
than ever to know who and what he was. 

The morning's repast being ready, and the stranger not having 
yet descended from his chamber. Mat hastened to summon him to 
attend. Shortly afterwards he came down stairs, and after paying 
the usual compliments of the day to Mat and his wife, he prepared 
to take his seat at the table, when his eyes suddenly encountered 
Richard, and no sooner did he behold him, than he gave a convulsive 
start, and turned red and white alternately. Mat and the others 
noticed his agitation with astonishment, but did not offer to interrupt 
him. For several minutes he remained as it were petrified to the 
spot ; but at length, without speaking a word, took his seat at the 
table, and fixing his eyes upon Richard, never removed them from 
him during the repast, and his mind seemed totally abstracted from 
everything else. He eat but little; and he also seemed to be vio- 
lently agitated. Mat and his wife watched him narrowly, and ex- 
changed mutual glances of significance. At length, when the break- 
fast was over the stranger arose, and turning to Mat, requested him 
to favor him with a few minutes' conversation alone. Mat readily 



GALLANT TOM. 57 

conii)lit.'cI, and led llie way into another apartment, wnere they re- 
niaiiietl closeted for some time; and when they returned to the par- 
lor, the emotion visible upon both theirx;ountenances, plainly showed 
that the subject of their discourse had been something important. 
There was a mingled expression of joy and surprise in the face ol 
Alat, which not a little increased the wonder and anxiety of his 
wife, who eagerly waited till they were alone, thinking that the for- 
mer would divulge what had take place between him and the stran- 
ger. She was, however, doomed to be disappointed, for the latter 
shortly after his return to the parlor, quitted the house, and instead 
of Mat furnishing her with the information for which she was so 
anxiously waiting, he strictly enjoined her to be secret upon the sub- 
ject of the stranger having visited their house, and firmly refused to 
reveal to her anything that had taken place at the interview. He 
told her, notwithstanding, that in a very short time he should proba- 
bly be permitted to disclose to her everything, and she would tben 
find that the subject was one of rejoicing instead of misfortune. 

With this explanation the dame was forced to be satisfied for the 
present ; but she murmured a good deal about it. Mat was parti- 
cularly cheerful the whole of the day ; and it was noticed that he 
paid more than usual attention to Richard, and seemed to be very 
uneasy when out of his presence. 

* * * * * ■» 

"When Saib left the Earl Fitzosbert, after the scene which we 
have described that took place between the two mentioned persons 
and Tom, he walked immediately from the house. The interview 
he had had with the gallant sailor, and the scorn, the triumph, and 
the threats of the latter, together with the assertion he had made 
with regard to Rosina being his sister, filled the bosom of the savage 
African with the most unbounded rage and distraction. He clench- 
ed his fist as he walked along, and gnashed his teeth. He felt at 
that nioment capable of committing the most hellish deed to gratify 
his revenge ; and curses deep and horrible, frequently escaped his 
lips, when he thought upon the manner in which he had invariably 
been foiled in his (liabolical schemes, and always when so near the 
attainment of his object ; — Ibiled, too, principally through the instru- 
mentality of Tom Clewline, (the name by which our hero had al 
ways been known in the navy, and to which he seemed more 
attached than that which really belonged to him). In the first in- 
stance, when he had discovered by the conversation he had over- 
heard to take place between Mat and his wife, that the right heir 
to the i)roud estates of Fitzosbert, still existed in the person of the 
boy Richard, and his life was in his hands, the latter had been res- 
cued by the sailor at the very critical moment. The second attempt 
he had made, was also not only tliwarled by the same individual, 
but he was punished by being impressed on board ship, and hurried' 
away from the theatre of his crimes, his wishes, and his prospects; 
treated like a dog ; mocked at, and reviled by the very man against 
whom his bosom glowed with the most sanguinary feelings ot 
revenge ; and when brought up to a pitch of madness, and 



58 GALLANT TOM. 

ungovernable hatred of every one, and tired of his own life, he had 
determined upon sacrificinQ; it, and immolating the whole of the 
ci'ew, his design had again been frustrated, at ihe very moment that 
the spnrk was being applied to the train, which would have sent 
them all into eternity, by Gallant Tom, who had been directed 
thither by the other being he had so much cause to hate — the boy 
Richard. With the thoughts of a demon, he recalled to his memory 
the punishment he had undergone for that offence ; the dreadful suf- 
ferings he had endured ; and as he did so, the blood seemed to rush 
scalding hot through his veins, and his whole frame was convulsed 
with the power of the furious passions that they gave rise to. 

" An eternal curse, one universal malediction light upon the heads 
of all those whom I so fiercely hate !" he exqlaimed, in a voice 
hoarse with rage. " May they never know a moment's peace — 
never experience one minute's happiness for the torture, ihe disap- 
pointment, they have caused the despised, the detested, black man! 
But I will be avenged! Yes, deeply, dreadfully avenged! Nor 
heaven, nor hell, shall ultimately thwart me in the gratification of 
my desires! The black man fears no danger to gain his ends, and 
by the infernal host, they shall yet tremble at my power, and wi-ilhe 
beneath the agonies it shall be my delight to cause them ! Oh, how 
I will glut over the work of my hands! Their groans of anguish 
will be as music to mine ears ; and their cries for mercy be met by 
me with the scornful laugh of exultation ! Yes, Tom Clewline, 
Richard Fitzosbert, Rosina, all, all shall feel the full terrors of the 
deadly vengeance they have aroused. Rosina must and s-hall be 
mine ! The proud, scornful beauty, shall become the mistress of the 
hated African ; and her brother shall know of her disgrace, her 
shame, her destruction, without having it in his power to assist or to 
save her. Fool! blind idiot that I must be, not to recognize the girl 
under the disguise she had assumed on board the vessel ! What a 
famous opportunity for the gratification of my desires did I lose ; 
and even had I been foiled in that, I would have taken care that she 
should not have lived for another to revel in those charms I covet: 
no, the deep bosom of the ocean should have formed her grave !" 

Saib here paused ; and folding his arms across his expansive 
chest, leaned his back against a rock, and gazed over the ocean with 
an expression of countenance which showed that his mind was in- 
tent upon the perpetration of some disgraceful scene. Suddenly, he 
fixed his eyes upon a vessel which was lying at anchor,/at no great 
distance, and as he did so, his features relaxed somewhat from their 
sternness, and a smile of exultation overspread them, as a sudden 
thought seemed to dart upon his brain. 

" Ah ! I have it," he cried, in a voice of pleasure ; " a scheme of 
vengeance rushes in a moment to my mind, which cannot fail of 
succeeding. Yonder lies the ' Nancy,' she is thought here to be a 
fair trading vessel ; but little do the fools suspect her real character. 
It is strange that this idea did not occur to me before! — but it is not 
too late. I must see Will Barnsley directly, and no doubt he will 
readily fall into my scheme. This Tom must be disposed of in some 



GALLANT TDM. 59 

way or other, to prevent his urging his claims in behalf of his sister 
and himself; and I have this moment thouglit of a plan, which will not 
only eflectually accomplish that object, but do away with all fear of 
his ever coming here to trouble us again. Once having got him oui 
of the way, it shall not be long ere Rosina shall be in my j)ower, 
and I will amply rc})ay myself for the past. Now, revenge, thou 
art securely within my grasp!" 

As the black man thus spoke, he liurried on his way, fully bent 
upon the immediate execution of the diabolical scheme which had 
entered his mind. 



CHAPTER V. 

In the parlor of a low public-house, known at that time by the 
sign of " The Blue Anchor," and which was greatly resorted to by 
the sailors, their lasses, crimps, jew peddlers, &g., sat a strong party 
of sailors, with several females. They were all of them doing am- 
ple justice to the tobacco, for the objects in the room were scarcely 
distinguishable, owing to the dense clouds of smoke by which it was 
filled ; and the tables were loaded with grog, the merits of which the 
guests were fairly discussing. There was a mixed assemblage of 
merchantmen, inen-o'-war-men, &c. ; and some of them, it must be 
confessed, were by no means prepossessing in their appearance. 
The females pi-esent were of the lowest description ; and the lan^ 
guage that occasionally was made use of by them, was anything but 
calculated to afford pleasure and satisffiction to ears polite. 

At a small round table, near the fireside, and apart from any of 
the rest, with the exception of two or three rough-looking incfivi- 
duals, to whom he addressed his conversation, sat a square-built, 
middle-aged man, with a dark, swarthy countenance, large, fierce- 
looking eyes, and huge black whiskers. He was dressed in a large 
pea-jacket, a broad-brimmed tarpaulin hat, and a very capacious pair 
of boots, which reached up to his thighs. He was smoking, and 
holding a conversation in an undertone with his companions, over 
whom he seemed to exercise considerable authority. The presence 
of this individual could not fail to fix the attention of the beholder 
in an instant; and there was something so peculiarly expressive in 
his countenance, that few could gaze upon it without a sensation of 
disgust and horror. The other persons in the room seemed to take 
but little notice of him and his companions ; while they, on the other 
hand, did not appear to be at all anxious to associate with them. 
Sometimes, indeed, they would respond to a toast, or join in the 
laugh, which ever and anon the tough yarns the sailors were spin- 
ning to one another would excite; but then it did not seem to be 
done spontaneously ; and they immediately relapsed into their pre- 
vious behavior, and entering into conversation among themselves, 
did not appear to be taking any notice of what was passing around. 

It was night, and the blaze of the fire, and the smoking tumblers 



60 GALLANT TU.^I. 

'of groo:, were by no means a cheerless or unpleasn nt sight. The moor 
was shining above, over the sea, hke a pale girl gazing into a look- 
ing-glass ; and the white sails of the different vessels lying at an- 
chor, reflected upon her silvery beams, looked like so many flutter- 
ing spirits of the air. But the sailors took no notice of the weather 
or the moon ; their thoughts were entirely engrossed by the stories 
they were narrating to one another, and in quaffing deep potations. 

In the midst of a group of attentive listeners, sat a handsome, 
weather-beaten sailor, about forty years of age, with a huge quid in 
his mouth, a long pipe in his jaws, and a pig-tail of such an enor- 
mous length, that the end of it nearly swept the floor. He had been 
spinning several yarns, much to the amusement of his companions, 
and was evidently about to treat them with another, for they were 
all most eagerly watching him, with their mouth wide open, and 
silence had more than once been proclaimed, and peremptorily en- 
forced, by a loud knocking on the table. 

"Well, I say, messmates," began Dick Taffrail, (for so was the 
sailor alluded to called) " I was going to say, as how, I'll be bound 
that there is not many that are seated here, as have cruised on board 
a pirate ?" 

At the mention of this name, the man whom we first described, 
and who before did not seem to be paying any attention to the con- 
versation, jumped suddenly upon his teet, his companions following 
his example; and they fixed their eyes fiercely and intently upon 
Dick and the others, who observed their behavior with considerable 
astonishment. 

"Hallo! captain," exclaimed Dick Tafii-ail, addressing himself to 
the man in the pea-jacket, " what's in the wind, now ? Why, 
damme, you look as " 

" As what ?" shouted the captain fiercely ; hark ye, my fine fellow, 
1 would advise you to belay your lingo a little more, and mind how 
you call honest men in future, pirates !" 

" Why, shiver my timbers, captain, you are off like a sky-rocket," 
said Dick, with perfect coolness : " but avast, avast, you are all abaft 
for once, I accused no one — not I ; God forbid that I should call any 
man out of his right name !" 

The captain, as he was called, exhibited a great deal of confusion, 
and seemed to recollect himself, looked significantly at his compan- 
ions, and resumed his seat without saying another word. Dick Taff- 
rail then turned his quid, took a hearty swig of grog, and resumed as 
follows : — 

" Well, as I was about to say, messmates, it was once my ill-for- 
tune to get amongst pirates, and to be forced to sail with 'em for 
some time. The vessel to which I belonged, was a merchant-ship, 
called 'The Saucy Peggy,' and we were bound to St. Domingo, — 
this was in 1769 or 1770, I'm not sartain which : however, that's no 
matter. We were sailing right in the wind's eye, when suddenly 
one of the men discovered a strange looking vessel bearing down 
upon our larboard tack, and at such a rate, that she must be on to 
us in no time. She was a black-looking brig ; and as she swept 



GALLANT TOM. 6i 

over the ocean, looked as gloomy as a hearse. We hoisted our 
colors directly ; but she did not return the compliment. 

" ' I don't much like the appearance of this craft/ said the cap- 
tain, addressing himself to the purser, who happened to be standing 
by. * Port hehn !' he shouted, running towards the forecastle ; ' we 
will get out of her way, if possible!' His orders were obeyed, but 
it was no use ; the vessel neared us like lightning, for a rare fast 
sailer she was ; and it was not long ere she had got so close to us, 
that we could distinguish her build very distinctly. 

'• ' By G — !' ejaculated the captain, 'this is a pirate as sure as 1 
hve!' 

"And sure enough it was ; and a rare saucy one too; for the 
next moment they hoisted the black flag, and fired a gun as a signal 
for us to heave to. This polite request our captain, however, thought 
fit to decline, and again ordered us to stretch every stitch of canvas 
we could, and endeavor to elude the enemy ; for we were in a very 
poor cXDndition to j'esist it, and any cijiance was better, he considered, 
than falling into their hands. It was no use ; the pirate fired after us, 
and struck our vessel in the waist, but did not do her much harm. 
It was now very clear that we must either quietly submit, or fight 
for it; and as the latter was by far the most preferable way, we 
made all the preparations which we could in so short a time, and 
every man went to his post. My eyes ! I shall never forget the first 
salute the pirate gave us — it made every timber in the ship tremble ! 
' She carries some very heavy metal,' says the captain, ' but we have 
justice on our side, so let us do our best.' We did do our best ; but 
it was all to no purpose. The pirates boarded us, and me and Joe 
Atkins, Ned Binnacle, two other men, and a boy, being all that sur- 
vived, were taken on board the pirate brig. Our ill-fated vessel was 
then stripped of all its cargo and burnt. These swabs, the pirates, 
were the most desperate set of ruffians I ever knew, and they de- 
lighted in murder. The captain of them was a fellow who stood 
about six feet two inches high, and stout with it ; his features were 
large and ferocious ; and his eyes were enough to frighten any one 
to look at them. He was called ' The Sea Devil,' and a very proper 
name for him too, for a greater devil than him tjiere could not be 
His men were all afraid of him ; for, if they offended him, their life 
was sure to pay the penalty of it. Only the day after 1 had been 
on board their vessel, one of the crew having murmured at obeying 
some orders which the pirate captain had given him, he had him 
stripped immediately and lashed to the gratings ; and he was flogged 
so severely that when they went to release him, the poor devil' was 
a corpse. 

" So you see, my lads," continued Dick, " we could not expect to 
have a very pleasant berth among 'em, and we was not disappointed 
neither. We was obliged to be very cautjous in our behavior, and 
to do many things which made our blood boil again, or else we 
should very soon have been sent to Davy Jones' locker. But the 
poor boy was worse ofl'of us all ; for, from the very first moment 
that we was taken on board, the pirate captain seemed to have taken 



62 GALLANT TOM. 

a dislike to him, and he knocked and kicked him about shamefully 
The poor lad could not do anything to please him — he was con-' 
stantlv at him — and made him do more heavy and laborious duty 
than any of the crew. He was a delicate looking boy, with a mel- 1 
ancholy countenance, and of a meek disposition, but no one of any*' 
feeling could l^ off liking him, for he was so civil and so willing to 
do anything he was told. 

" One day, poor Ben happened to be sitting on the l)0wsprit, when 
the pii-ate came upon deck, and observing him, seized a marline- 
spike that was just handy, and dealing him a violent blow, knocked 
hitp overboard. Horror-struck at such an event, I rushed forward, 
with an intention to endeavor to save the boy, but the captain held 
me back fiercely, and threatened to serve n)e the same if I offered 
to move. 1 was compelled to obey ; but I looked upon the spot 
where Ben had disappeared with feelings of horror. There was a 
pool of blood upon the crest of one of the waves, and in a second 
afterwards, (although any one Would have thought that the violent 
blow which he had dealt him must have killed him) he arose again, 
the blood streaming over his ashy face. He was quite erect, as 
though he was standing; and although it was but an instant before 
he sunk to rise no more, in that brief space of time, I saw him as 
plain as I see one of you now, fix his eyes solemnly on his murderer, 
in a manner which 1 shall never forget. I turned away with a 
shudder, and said to myself: * for this cruel deed, the spirit of poo^^ 
Ben Walton will haunt you, or my name is not Dick Taflrail I* " ■"' . 

" And did it, Dick ?" very eagerly inquired about a dozen of th^l 
anxious listeners. .' 

"Did it !" reiterated Dick; "aye, aye, indeed it did, my lads, or 
may I never eat salt junk again. What I am relating is as true as 
the Bible. I witnessed it with my own eyes, and I can, therefore, 
vouch for its being correct. Ben's ghost was almost our constant 
companion ever after that." 

" How was that ?" asked one of the sailors. ^ 

" Why ril tell you," returned Dick. " The night after this shock- 
ing affair — I think it was the sixth watch when I was on duty — that 
I suddenly heard a'deep sigh, which seemed to be breathed close be- 
hind me ; but thinking it'was the wind, I took no notice of it at 
first, but in a very few seconds it was repeated, and staring round 
I proceeded forward. The moon was shining brightly, and every- 
thing was as clear upon deck as if it had been the middle of the 
day ; and casting my eyes towards the bowsprit, you may guess 
how alarmed and astonished I was, when I beheld poor Ben seated 
across it, (or rather it was his ghost) with his face looking so pale, 
and the blood streaming down it, just the same as he had looked 
when he appeared in the water for the last time. 

At first 1 was so surprised that I had not the power to move ; but 
in a minute or two, I called to the other men who were on duty, and 
who saw it also. It did not remain on the bowsprit, but, all in an 
instant, it would disappear, and would be seen on the extreme point 
of the jib-boom. Sometimes it would be seen standing in the rat- 



GALLANT TOM. 63 

lines ; then scn'ted on top ot' the companion, or on the binnacle ; but 
there was noway of shutting it out iVoni our sight — turn which way 
we would, the ghost of Ben Walton was sure to be before us. 1> 
was an awful sight, and such as I do not wish to see again ; and tht 
jiirates showed the terrors of men who knew the crimes of which 
they have been guilty, and therefore the more unprepared for a cir- 
cumstance of the kind. They looked at one another with ghastly 
faces, and shook their heads, as much as to say, that they dreaded 
some accident would happen to them after this, and that a spell 
would rest upon the ship as a punishment for the savage murder of 
the unfortunate boy, and indeed I thought so too ; for surely, such 
n savage, cold-blooded crime as this, would not be suflered to go 
unpunished." 

" But, did the captain see the ghost ?" inquired one of the sailors. 

" Yes, he did," answered Dick ; "in fact, he was never out of his 
siglit from that time, and he became a complete mad man. It was 
quite awful to hear him swear ; and then he would lay hold of any- 
thing that was handy to him, and deal such heavy blows in the air, 
as if he was striking at some object. We were all afraid to come 
near him, for he would not bear to be spoken to ; and he looked so 
dreadful,- it was enough to make a person shudder to gaze upon 
him. '' 

" Well, the vessel continued on her course, without falling in with 
any more prizes ; and indeed if we had, the men were so spiritless 
at the constant appearance of the ghost of poor Ben Walton, that 
they would not have the courage to have made any resistance, and 
we should be sure to have been defeated. That such an event 
should take place, you may be sure I was constantly praying ; for 1 
was in a most wretched state of mind, while I was on board that 
damned piratical craft. Shiver my topsails, if 1 had had half a 
dozen of the ffwabs to deal with, and fair play, I could have beat 
them as easy as I could snap a biscuit. But then, yer see, there 
was no chance for that. 

" Well, my lads, it was only a few days after the murder of Ben, 
tliat it came on a precious storm, and we were tossed about like a 
cork in a heavy sea. It blew great guns ; and as for managing the 
vessel, it was quite wn-possible. Ah! thought I, this is the penalty 
for the murder of poor Ben ! We shall none of us outlive this 
storm. And so the pirates seemed to think ; for they were all of 
them very dull, and as the captain madly dashed amongst them and 
gave his orders, in a hoarse voice, and with eyes flashing like those 
of a fiend, they treated him with indifference, and seemed to be cal- 
lous as to what became of them, and did not exert themselves but 
very little, appearing as though they had made up their minds to 
meet with a watery grave. Two nights and"" three days we was 
tossed aijout in this manner, expecting that we should founder every 
moment. We had thrown all our guns overboard, and done every- 
thing we could to lighten the brig, so that if we had encountered an 
enemy afterwards, we should have been captured, there could not 
be the least doubt. 



64 GALLANT TOM. 

"During this time, at least on each night, Ben's ghost was con. 
stantly present to us all, no matter in what part of the vessel we 
were, there he was sure to be. Separate or together, every person 
on board was sure to see him ; and every night he would look more 
ghostly than ever. I shall never be able to scratch that from the 
log-book of my memory the longest day I am afloat. Every now 
and then he would raise a pitiful, wailing cry, which might be heard 
above the howling of the tempest and the roaring of the waves ; 
and then his eyes would glare so frightfully, that it was enough to 
freeze the blood to ice to gaze upon him. As for the captain, he 
had become quite unmanageable — perfectly mad ; and it was ter- 
rible to see him rushing to all parts of the vessel, covering his eyes 
with his hands, and trying, but in vain, to shut out the awful object 
which haunted him continually. And then his groans were terrific 
to hear ! The curse of his murdered victim was upon him ; and he 
was suflering all the torments of hell. Monster as he was, I could 
not help pitying the poor wretch ; but his punishment was not more 
than he deserved. 

" On the third day, I could perceive a strange change in the be- 
havior of the pirate crew : they watched the movements of their 
captain with suspicious looks; and alternately they collected in 
groups together, and consulted with one another in whispers. The 
captain had become totally incapable of giving any orders ; in fact 
he had completely lost his senses, and had stretched himself at full 
length in the forecastle, where he groaned and writhed in mental 
and bodily agony, without any one going near him, to offer to render 
him any assistance. 

' " During this time, the ship was almost entirely neglected, and it 
was a wonder that she could live so long in such a storm. Our 
pumps were choked, and most of the crew stood looking at one 
another in despair, or with an expression of countenance which I 
could not very well understand. Hovvs'ever, I was very soon made 
acquainted with it. All at once, I noticed a signal made amongst 
about a dozen of the pirates, and in an instant they rushed to the 
forecastle from which the groans and curses of the captain could bo 
distinctly heard. 

" In a minute or two they returned with him in their arms, and 
his struggles were terrific : it was as much as they could do to hold 
him ; and his face did look so awful — his complexion had become 
leaden, like that of a corpse ; he was foaming at the mouth like a 
mad person ; and his eyes shone with a fierceness that made them 
appear as if they could not possibly belong to a human being. He 
called loudly upon the name of Ben ; and with many horrible curses, 
begged of those who held him, not to allow him to gnaw at his heart, 
and to remove the red-hot coals from his brains. But the pirates 
heeded not his cries ; their minds seemed to be made up ; they bore 
hirn struggling desperately to the side of the vessel ; I covered my 
eyes with my hands to shut out the horrible sight, and the blood ran 
coldly through my veins. A moment more, and I heard a loud 



GALLANT TOM. 65 

Splash in the ocean, which was followed by such a piercing shriek 
tliat I shall never forget it. 

" I removed my hand from my eyes ; the sea-devil was gone! but 
a supernatural light illumined the deck, and shone upon the dark 
countenances of the pirates in such a manner as I never saw the 
like before, nor do I believe that the oldest man in the fleet ever did 
before me. Justice was done — the captain was tossed overboard to 
the sharks ; and, as I heard from the pirates afterwards, the moment 
the waves received his carcass, the ghost of Ben Walton appeared 
above the spot where he had disappeared, and, laughing exultingly 
for a second or two, became lost to the sight." 

" Well, Dick." said the sailor, who had before interrupted the 
narrator, "that there is sartinly a tough yarn o' yourn, and I think 
you had better splice the main-brace before you proceed any furder. 
Drink, shipmates, and destruction to all pirates!" 

" Ditto, repeated, as our chaplain used to say on board the 'Thun- 
derer,' when he was swallowing off his sixteenth jorum of grog," 
observed Dick Taffrail, taking the glass in his hand, "and a sound 
drubbing to them, either on shore or at sea." 

As the other sailor and Dick thus plainly gave expression to their 
sentiments, the man, whom they had designated captain, and his 
companions, looked round fiercely, and seemed half inclined to 
quarrel with them ; but after frowning upon them darkly, which the 
former returned with a look of perfect coolness and contempt, they 
removed their gaze, resumed the conversation they had been carrying 
on amongst themselves, and suffered Dick Taffrail and his friends to 
enjoy themselves in the way they thought best, without offering to 
interrupt them. 

" I s'pose," said the sailor before mentioned, addressing himself to 
Dick, — " I s'pose arter the death o' the captain, the ghost didn't 
trouble yer agin, an' that the storm abated ?" 

" No such thing," answered Taffrail ; "to be sure, we didn't see 
no more of Ben, but the vessel soon afterwards split upon a rock 
and went to pieces, and me and two others were all that contrived 
to get into the long-boat — all the others perished. I was driven 
about for three days in the boat before I was picked up by a vessel 
homeward-bound ; but my two companions had expired of fatigue 
and hunger three hours before, and thus I am the only survivor of 
that ill-fated vessel." 

•' And is that the whole o' your yarn, Dick ?" inquired another 
sailor. 

" Th' whole of it?" reiterated Dick. "To be sure it is, and a 
very tidy yarn too it is, I think, and every word on it is as true as 
if the parson o' the parish had told it yer." 

" Talk about a shipwreck," remarked one of the companions ®f 
Dick Taffrail, "the loss of the vSea-Lion, eighty-four, in 1764, was 
one, when Sam Belson and I was exposed in an open boat for four 
days and a half, without any purwisions whatsomever, but half a 
dozen biscuits !" 



66 GALLANT TOM. 

" And survived arter all ?" queried a rough-looking old tar, seated 
in the corner, with an incredulous leer. 

"T did," answered the sailor; "but Sam didn't — he committed 
suicide." 

"Committed suicide! That's rather an uncommon thing for a 
sailor to do. But how was it ?" 

" Why, I'll tell yer," observed Jack Spicer, which was the name 
of the speaker : " it was a very sing'lar death as Sam met with, and 
I was very careful in entering it in the log-book of my memory. 
Sam and I, as 1 said afore, was exposed in an open boat, and it was 
so cold mat we could not speak to each other ; the words were 
actually frozen in our mouths ; and I recollect when I was piclced 
up, and placed before the galley fire, as soon as I began to thaw, the 
conversation as I had intended* to address to Sam, came from me so 
fast that 1 was almost choked, and the sailors didn't know what to 
make of me !" 

" I dare say that's not at all unlikely," said Dick Taffrail, blowing 
a very stiff cloud, and wagging his right leg which hung over his 
left knee. 

"Well," resumed Jack Spicer, "and it was very hard times for 
us, and die I certainly thought we must. We ate the biscuits in no 
time, and then we was so precious hungry, that we was ready to eat 
one another. Howsomever, I had rather a delicate appetite at all 
times, and I could sooner starve than do as my shipmate did. On 
the second day, I saw him look at his shoes very greedily, and pre- 
sently he takes them off, one at a time, and crunched 'em before I 
could cry Jack Robinson. His trovv.sers was the next thing — they 
were canvass — but it was no matter to him : he tore the right leg 
away, and swallowed that in no time ; and he seemed to like the 
flavor on it, too, for he tore the left leg away, and that went as quick 
as the other. lie didn't eat any more that day, but the next he 
swallowed his jacket, shirt, and hat, while I sat and looked at him 
with an empty stomach, but couldn't follow his example lor the life 
of me. When the third day came, he looked suspiciously at his 
feet, and he soon went to work on them I" 

" Avast, avast there ! mate," said Dick ; "you don't mean for to go 
to say, as he devoured his feet ?" 

" But I do, though," said Jack Spicer ; "they were only a bit of a 
snack to him, for his legs followed in a very short time afterwards. 
The next day he swallowed both of his arms, and part of his trunk, 
and on the fifth day he finished the latter I" 

" And what then ?" asked several in a breath. 

" Why, he swallowed his head, to be sure; and after that jumped 
overboard in despair !" was Jack Spicer's reply. The sailors looked 
at each other, winked and laughed. 

At this moment, the parlor door was opened, and the faces of all 
the guests were turned to see who was the person about to enter. It 
was Saib, the black, who upon seeing the man in the pea-jacket, made 
his way over towards the table at which he and his companions were 



GAI-LANT TOM. 67 

seated, without seeming to take any notice of any of the other in- 
mates of the room. 

" Captain Barnsley," said the African, speaking to the man whom 
we have before described, " I would have a few words with you." 

" I am ready to hear you, Saib," said the former ; "be seated." 

" Not here," added the black : " our conference must be alone. — 
Can you attend me in another room for a few minutes?" 

"Lead the way," said Barnsley, " I will follow you. I shall be 
with you again shortly," added he, addressing himself to the unpre- 
possessing men who were his companions. 

Saib immediately left the parlor, accompanied by Barnsley, and 
proceeded to a small room at the back of the premises, which he had 
previously bespoken of the landlord. 

"So, you have returned again," said Saib, after he had closed the 
door ; " what success have you met with on your last voyage ?" 

"Oh, glorious!" answered Barnsley. "Fortune never smiled more 
bounteously upon me, since I took possesion of my noble craft." 

"I am giad to hear it. But I need your aid." 

" What would you ?" 

" You shall quickly hear," answered the black ; ''and when I tell 
you, that you will be handsomely rewarded for your trouble, I do 
not think that you will refuse me." 

" You say right, Saib," said Captain Barnsley. " What risk is there, 
T should like to know, that Will Barnsley, the pirate captain, would 
not run to obtain the bright yellow gold ? But what is it you would 
have me do ?" 

" First of all, you must swear, that if you decline my request, that 
you will never betray me." 

" Avast, avast ! there," exclaimed Barnsley ; " there is no need for 
so much caution— you know me. As for swearing, if you cannot 
take my word, why there is an end of the matter, and you had bet- 
ter get somebody else to do your business." 

" No, there is not any necessity for that, Barnsley ; I know I can 
trust you, and will therefore open my mind at once to you. You 
know The Old Commodore?" 

" Know it," cried Barnsley; "I should think I do; and many a 
time I have been there, if it was for nothing else than to look at and 
admire old Mat's pretty daughter. She is a fine lass, and I shouldn't 
care if she was entered along side of me in the log-book of matri- 
mony." 

" Of course, then, you know her sweetheart ?" 

" What, Tom Clewline, who has not long returned home ?" said 
Barnsley. " Indeed, I do ; and a fine fellow he is, every way worthy 
of the lass, although I envy him his good fortune. I like his ac- 
quaintance vastly, and wish we could nab him aboard our vessel ; 
we want experienced hands, and he's an excellent seaman and a 
good navigator." 

" That's the very thing I want you to do," said Saib, an expres- 
sion of pleasure passing over his sable features. " You know this 
gallant Tom, as he is called, is no friend of mine ?" 



OS GALLANT TOM, 

"Aye, aye," returned the pirate captain, "I know all about that j 
you would'have him on board my ship." 

" Exactly so." 

" The task, mayhaps, will be rather difficult to accomplish," ob- 
served Barnsley. " What reward would you feel disposed to give ?" 

" Fifty gnineas," answered the black. 

" Fifty guineas ! — I am at your service," cried Barnsley, eagerly ; 
" and I am much deceived, if in less than a week, he is not aboard 
my vessel." 

"Bravely said," exclaimed the African, " and I hope your surmises- 
may prove correct ; I may then not mind making an addition of a 
few pounds to the reward I have offered you. But has Tom any 
suspicion of your real character ?" 

" Suspicion," repeated Barnsley, "not the least. How should he? 
I have always managed to make myself agreeable while in his pre- 
sence ; and although we have been within hail of each other but a 
short reckoning, and met by accident aboard The Old Commodore, 
he has often told me, he thought me a good fellow — one who would 
like to do a good turn to any one in distress ; and we have drank 
many a glass of grog together. I have longed to entrap him by 
some means or other: and before this, have frequently thought of 
getting the grog aboard, trying to sew^up his daylights, and getting 
him into such a condition that he would have neither eyes to see 
with, nor ears to hear with. Hitherto, however, I have not had an 
opportunity of putting my wishes into execution ; but I feel confi- 
dent, that in a few days not only will Tom Clewline be in my power, 
bu his sweetheart, the pretty Ellen." 

" What ! and do you mean to seize upon the girl as well ?" inquir- 
ed Saib. 

" To be sure I do," answered Barnsley ; " what's the use of doing 
things by halves ? I want the lass equally as much as 1 do the 
sailor." 

" Ah! that will be more glorious revenge, still," cried the African. 
" But how do you propose accomplishing the task ?" 

" Leave that to me," answered the pirate captain. " You will not 
find me any dawdler — but, I must not remain here, for fear the real 
character of my vessel should be found out. Good night, Saib." 

" Good night !" responded the black, and having shook the pirate's 
hand, he stalked from the house, and pondering with satisfaction 
upon the ready compliance of Barnsley, (or "Grim Barnsley," as 
he was commonly called) with his wishes, he hastened on towards 
home. 



CHAPTER VI. 

RosiNA, knowing the business Tom was going upon to the man- 
sion of Fitzosbert, tried to dissuade him. She was unable to endure 
the apprehension which rushed upon her mind, and therefore re- 



GALLANT TOM. XiV 

quested Patty to hasten to " The Old Commodore," to see if he had 
stopped there on his way. 

Patty complied, although reluctantly, for she had just sat down to 
write a letter to her sweetheart, Toby Twitter, full of bitter re- 
proaches and remonstrances, inasmuch as she suspected that he was 
i'aithless to her, as he had not been to see her more than twice since 
their return to Plymouth ; and she had good reasons to suppose that 
he had placed his affections on a certain little black girl, who was on 
board the same vessel with them, and who was called Cheeti. As 
she was walking up a lane which led to " The Old Commodore," 
the voices of a man and woman met her ears. She looked through 
the hedge and beheld her faithless Toby and tne sable object who 
had excited her jealousy. Great was her agitation while she listen 
ed to the following convej'sation : 

"Ah! Massa Toby," said Cheeti, in a tone of reproach, "you 
bery much little naughty man — you win poor Cheeti's heart, bring 
her ashore, and den you want to desert her." 

" Why, the truth is, my darling Miss Black Pudding," returned 
Toby, laughing; "something tells me that I have not acted right, 
after the vows I have made to Patty, and I think our acquaintance 
had better cease at once." 

" Ah, you bery bad man. You promise, when me get to England, 
to make me your chum-chum." 

" Well, so I did, and I will not be worse than my word. 

" Den you will make me your chum-chum ?" 

" Yes, my delicate little angel," said Toby, " as soon as we can 
make the necessary arrangements and I have broken off with Patty, 
you shall be made Mrs. Twitter. But where's the money you was 
speaking about ?" 

" Money ! money !" reiterated Cheeti ; " me thought you hab de 
money, Massa Toby." 

" Nonsense," retorted Toby, sternly ; " did I not acknowledge to 
you that I was as poor as a church mouse ? — and did I not make 
it a particular condition of marrying you, that you should give me 
all the money that you said you had saved up?" 

" Me know dat," said the black girl, "but dere be reasons for my 
not doing so." 

" What, because you have not got any I suppose ?" 

" Iss, iss, massa." 

" And did you expect that Mr. Toby Twitter would be so unfash- 
ionable as to marry a wife without money ?" 

" Me thought you one ob dose generous English dat " 

" Oh, then you are much mistaken," rejoined Toby, in a tone ol 
disappointment, " being English is no reason for a man not making 
money one of his conditions when he intends to marry." 

" I tought, Massa Toby " 

" Look you, Cheeti," said the faithless Toby, "that individual has 
very little right to the name of a man, who when a fine girl, like 
yourself, throws herself upon his honor, casts her off because she 



70 GALLANT TOM. 

can't pay her way into becoming a wife ; — but still, those four let- 
ters, G O L D, do make a wonderful difference in a case like this." 

" Iss," replied the black girl; " but dere be four oder letters dat 
make amends for dat, LOVE; and dat is followed by two oders 
as is much better still." 

" What are they ?" i 

" Good wife," answered the girl, laughing archly. 

" Come to my arms, my pretty snow-ball," cried Toby, with much 
apparent rapture. 

" Den I am your chum-chum for ebber ?" cried Cheeti, joyfully ; 
" I try wedder liim heart in right place, and now I find it is, I tell 
you me hab lots of money." 

" No ! — Have you, though ?" 

" Iss I hab." 

" You take away my breath with surprise," said Toby. " Come 
to my arms once more, my little angel." 

Again Toby Twitter embraced the sable damsel, while Patty 
looked on in a state of mind which only those who have felt the 
torments of jealousy can imagine; but it was not a little increased 
when they commenced singing a duet, which she had not the least 
doubt they had well studied together from the correct manner in 
which they sang it. She then went sobbing home. 

Will Barnsley, the pirate captain, and Saib, saw each other by ap- 
pointment on the following day, and concerted their infamous plot 
against Tom and Ellen ; and it was agreed to endeavor to accom- 
plish it without delay. 

" The boy, Richard, too," said the African, on this their second 
interview, " you know him ?" 

" Aye, to be sure I do," answered Barnsley, " and a fine lad he is : 
I only wish I could come athwart his hawse ; — he'd make a fine 
fellow for our business." 

"Could you but manage to entrap him as well as the others," said 
Saib, his large, fierce eyes glowing with fire, " I could promise you 
one hundred guineas more to the sum I have already agreed to give 
you." 

"Ah! say you so?" exclaimed Barnsley, eagerly; "but why 
should you wish tiie boy to be placed under your hatches ? What 
can the boy have done to make him obnoxious to you ?" 

"That matters not to you," answered the black; "it is enough 
that I wish to get rid of him, so that he is not allowed to set his foot 
in England again." 

"It shall be done, you may depend upon it; leave Will Barnsley 
alone for succeeding in any plot he may have fixed his mind upon. 
But hark ye, Master Saib, no deceit in this affair. The money to 
be all forthcoming at tb.e time specified; and, if it is not, you — but 
I have no occasion to threaten yet ; you've known me before to- 
day." 

" Right, right," answered Saib : " you have no occasion to doubt 
me ; there will be no treachery on my part ; but I hope you will use 
all the expedition you can in this affair." 



GALLANT TOM. 71 

" Aye, aye, you may be sure I will do that," said Barnsley, " for 
my own sake. I do not want to lie here, wasting tny time any 
longer than 1 can help ; but I am anxious to be upon another cruise. 
The ocean is my home, and I feel like a sea-gull in a puddle, when I 
am not upon it. Not many davs shall elapse ere those I want shall 
be safe on board my brig, and then away we go like lightning before 
the wind, bidding defiance to any of the Government cutters to 
overtake us, for we outsail them all." 

They departed, and Saib sought the presence of the Earl Fitzos- 
bert, whom he had not seen since the scene which took place be- 
tween them and Tom. He found him in a gloomy mood, his mind 
evidently affected after the interview above alluded to ; and he was 
laboring under that state of doubt, suspense, and perplexity, which 
constantly rendered him so truly wretched. He was pacing his 
apartment with uneven strides, wheri Saib entered, and upon behold- 
ing him, he started, and seemed confused and violently agitated. 

" i\Iy lord," said Saib, sneeringly, and with a look that showed he 
iield Fitzosbert in his power, and felt for him the most superlative 
contempt, " when I left you, yesterday, I expressed a wish, when 
next we met, you might have recovered from that nervous debility 
which at that time afflicted you. But I perceive that my wishes are 
riot gratified. Bah! my lord, this weakness would disgrace a whin- 
ing, love-sick girl ; — I am ashamed of you." 

" You talk rather boldly, methinks, Saib," said Fitzosbert, sternly. 

" I know no reason why I should fear to speak to you," returned 
the African, scornfully. " I owe you no obligation — and you are in- 
debted to me for " 

" For all the misery, the torture — the incessant torture which racks 
my brain," added the Earl. " Oh, Saib, would that we had never 
met !" 

" Well, we can quickly end our acquaintance, if you wish it," said 
the black, with an ironical grin, which rendered his features more 
hideous than ever ; '' but remember, I shall expect to share equally 
with you that wealth I have been the principal means of getting." 

" Would that I could purchase a clear conscience at so cheap a 
rate," groaned the Earl. 

" Psiiaw I — enough of this foolery," exclaimed Saib, impatient!}*. 
" 1 came not here to talk of conscience, but to inform you that 1 have 
made such arrangements to remove the objects of your fears as can- 
not fail to succeed." 

"Ah!" cried the Earl, eagerly, — "what mean you? — tell me — 
quick !" 

Saib, in as few words as possible, informed Fitzosbert of the plans 
which Will Barnsley and himself had concocted, to which he listened 
with the gravest attention. A faint smile of satisfaction for a mo- 
ment or two passed over his features ; but it soon vanished, and was 
succeeded by the same exin'ession of gloom and intense sorrow which 
had before beclouded it. 

"Of what avail will this be?" said he. "From circumstances 
which have already taken place, we shall be suspected of having 



fSt GALLANT TOM. 

been the cause of it, and, most undoubtedly, be brougiit to justice 
for it." 

" Your childish fears will be the means of betraying us," returned 
Saib, in an angry lone ; "but the stratagem shall be put into opera- 
lion : I have so far proceeded with it, and I am determined that no- 
thing shall now induce me to abandon it. I would advise you to 
banish those fears from your mind as soon as possible, or you may 
repent them when too late." 

With these words, Saib stalked out of the room, without giving 
Fitzosbert time to make any reply. 

Thus passed away a week, and Tom was a constant guest of 
" The Old Commodore ;" and in the society of his beloved Ellen, 
and indulging in bright anticipations of the future, was extremely 
happy. Sometimes they would walk to the place which Rosina had 
made her retreat, and the two amiable girls in each other's society 
had no difference in their feelings, and soon became as much attached 
to one another as if they were sisters. The settlement of Tom and 
his sister's affairs had been placed in the hands of an eminent lawyer, 
and there was not any reason to doubt but that they would be speedily 
adjusted to their satisfaction. Tom had not yet quitted the service, 
and he had determined not to do so, although he expected a higher 
station than he had heretofore occupied. 

Old Mat still persisted in keeping the purport of his interview with 
the stranger a secret, and it was noticed that he frequently went 
from home, and no one knew whither he went. The stranger was 
not seen again at the tavern ; but dame and Ellen had reason to 
believe that he was residing somewhere in the neighborhood, and it 
was to him the frequent visits of Mat were paid. 

Richard had by this time grown a fine lad, and his mind was as 
intelligent as his person and features were handsome. There was 
a certain nobleness and dignity in his general behavior, which 
seemed far above his station in life ; and there were several who 
often ventured to premise, that he was not the nephew of old Mat. 
The voyage he had taken had greatly improved him, and he loved 
a sailor's life most enthusiastically. Bold, intrepid, vigorous, and 
enterprising, he possessed all the qualifications lor a gallant seaman; 
and Tom looked upon him with no little pride, and declared that he 
would be an honor to the profession. On board the vessel, he had 
gained the respect and admiration of all the officers and crew; for 
he was so cheerful and buoyant, that he kept them all amused. His 
courageous conduct, by which he had saved the vessel and the whole 
of the ship's company, when the villain Saib made his diabolical 
attempt to fire the powder magazine, had gained him the gratitude 
of the officers and all the crew ; and he not only received a hand- 
some reward from the Lords of the Admiralty, but a promise of 
speedy promotion. Often the dame caught him watching the lad 
with more than usual earnestness ; and then he would suddenly 
burst into a joyous laugh, which, when questioned about, he would 
make no reply to, but hastily leave the house, from which he pro- 
bably would be absent for several hours. 



GALLANT TOM. 73 

This conduct created much surprise in the mind of the old wo- 
man, and she was all anxiety to learn why Mat evaded her questions, 
bv merely observing, " that she would know all by-and-bye." With 
liiis reply, the dame was forced to appear contented, though she was 
far from satisfied ; and her thoughts often wandered to the stranger 
who sought shelter at their house, and whose extraordinary likeness 
to Richard had so forcibly struck her. She could not help thinking 
that, in some way or other, they were connected. 

Richard and Ellen were much attached to each other ; in fact, 
had they been related by the ties of consanguinity, they could not 
have loved each other more. No thought, no wish, had Ellen, which 
Richard could not read ; and, if it were in his power, how readily 
would he fly to gratify it. 

They had been companions from childhood, and never had they 
been known to have a quarrel. Richard would be the first to resent 
what he considered to be an insult oftered to her by any of their 
young companions. He stood boldly forth, even then, as the cham- 
pion of his " pretty coz," as he was accustomed to call her, although 
Ellen was several years his senior. 

Mat and his wife encouraged this attachment, although the former 
frequently hinted that probably, at some future period, circumstances 
might occur to interrupt it. 

" Never !" exclaimed Richard, vehemently, one day when Mat 
had been making similar observations. "What! cease to love my 
dear cousin Ellen ? Oh, uncle, I could sooner part with my life, 
tlian I could act in such a manner !" 

" You are a good lad," observed Mat, " and I know you speak 
sincerely. Do not suppose for a moment that 1 expect you will 
ever Ibrget Ellen, or^ — but, who knows, there are strange things hap- 
pen sometimes in the course of a person's life ; — and who can tell 
but that circumstances may place you in a situation that " 

" What circumstances can ever have the effect to make me 
forget my dearest friends ? Why do you speak thus, dear uncle ?" 

Mat appeared to be rather confused. 

" Why, you see, Dick, you may get on in the world and get pro- 
moted ; and then, mayhaps, it might not be pleasant for you to ac- 
knowledge your old friends, and " « 

" Oh ! it is impossible that I could ever act with such ingratitude 
let me ever remain as I am ! Neither time nor circumstances can, 
I am certain, ever alter the sentiments I entertain towards you, my 
beloved uncle, aunt, and cousin Ellen ; nor would I forget the love 
of you all, to be made King of England !" 

" Noble boy, noble boy ; damme, you will be made a Lord High 
Admiral before you die, and that's tlie truth of it. Dick, how should 
you like to be a gentleman ?"' 

" A gentleman !" repeated Richard ; "oh, I should indeed like to 
have plenty of n)oney, so that I might make those independent thai 
have ever been so good and kind to me." 

" Nobly spoken again ! Mark my words, Dick, you shall be a 
gentleman — you shall be rich, and " 



74 GALLANT TOM. 

"But why, my dear uncle," said Richard, "are you so sanguine 
as to my future fortune ? — what prospects have I beyond what I 
may obtain by n)y own perseverance ?" 

" What prospects ! reiterated Nat, sharply ; — " what prospects! — 
why ain't you — but, avast. Mat ! you are on the wrong tack — damme, 
if 1 know what 1 am talking about. But see, here comes Tom and 
Ellen ; bless her pretty face, she looks as happy as an angel !" 

Tom and his sweetheai't now entered the house, they having been 
on a visit to Rosina, who kept herself as much secluded as possible, 
until the law-suit pending with the l^iiirl Fit/osbert was settled. The 
conversation was therefore changed : but Richard had noticed the 
singularity of Mat's behavior, and it made a forcible impression upon 
him. He was confident there was more in the words than he could 
at that time understand ; and he reflected deeply upon them. But 
why the words of his uncle should continue to haunt his memory, 
he was at a loss at the same time to conjecture. 

He had walked forth from the liouse, and proceeded along the sea- 
beach, revolving the above mentioned circumstance in his mind, 
when, suddenly, he was aroused by observing a long shadow on the 
sand, and, looking U|), he beheld, standing a short distance from him, 
with his arms folded in his mantle, the stranger, who had sought 
shelter in " The Old Commodore,"' a week or two before. He was 
immoveable as a statue, and seemed to be gazing upon Richard with 
an earnest expression of the deei)est interest. 

For a few seconds Richard paused, and contcmi)lated the stranger 
with a feeling equally as intense as that which seemed to occupy 
the bosom of the latter. There was sometliing in the features of 
the stranger which riveted the attention of the lad, and caused a 
sensation in his breast, which, to him, was perfectly unaccountable. 
It was a sensation of the most unbounded esteem — a feeling that 
made his young blood glow in his veins — and he could have rushed 
into the arms of the unknown, and embraced him with all the ardor 
of filial alTection. A deep melancholy seemed settled in the coun- 
tenance of the stranger ; but there wos something so mild, so noble, 
and so amiable in its expression, that it excited immediate respect 
in the bosom of the beholder. 

J^etermined at length to speak to him, Richard hastened on. The 
stranger did not move at first, and seemed so entirely absorbed by 
the thoughts that occupied his mind, as to be completely riveted to 
the spot ; but when Richard had got near him, he suddenly turned 
round, left the spot with the greatest precipitation, and was quickly 
out of sight. 

Richard stood looking in the direction the stranger had taken for 
some moments, and then made his way towards home, reflecting 
upon what had taken place. He felt an unaccountable interest in 
the stranger, and was anxious to ascertain who he was ; but in that 
he had no prospect of succeeding. Do all he could, he could not 
erase him from his thoughts the whole of the day ; and yet he was 
at a loss to imagine why he should so particularly engross all his 
ideas. The expression of deep melancholy which had struck the 



GALLANT TOM. 75 

lad most forcibly ; and he already sympathized iu his misfortunes, 
whatever they might be. 

These thoughts haunted his mind after he had retired to rest ; and 
In his dreams he again beheld the form of the unknown, and saw 
his fine, expressive eyes fixed intently on his countenance. 

Suddenly, he was awakened by a noise in the chamber, and rub 
bing his eyes, caught a slight glimpse of what he imagined was some 
jierson in the room, lie raised himself on his elbow, and looked 
eagerly around. The moon was riding majestically in the heavens, 
and her s-ilvery light perfectly illumined the apartment ; but Richard 
could not now behold any object, and concluding that it had been 
only fancy, he once more laid himself down and went to sleep. 

Again, however, he was awakened by a similar noise to that 
which had before aroused hin), and, jumping up instantly in the bed, 
he beheld, standing affectionately over liim, the tall and handsome 
figure of the stranger. 

For a moment or two after he saw that Richard was a^vake, and 
that he was observing him, he stood gazing upon him with a look of 
the most indescribable tenderness ; then sighing deeply, he raised 
his hands, as if invoking a blessing upon his head, and, turning 
suddenly towards the door, he had quitted the room before Richard 
had sufficiently recovered fron) his astonishment to speak. 

Completely thunderstruck by what he had seen, Richard jumped 
from his couch, and went to the door ; but the stranger was gone, 
and he distinctly heard the outer door closed after him. On going 
to the casement, and looking out, he saw him hastening away in the 
direction which led to the high road, and shortly afterwards he was 
hidden from his view. 

Confident that it was no dream, Richard now tried in vain to con- 
jecture the cause of the stranger's mysterious visit to him, and how 
he had gained admittance to the house. He was inclined to think, 
however, that he meant no harm, although his motives for acting in 
so singular a manner, were entirely beyond hiis comprehension. 

lie knew he should not be able to sleep any more that night, and 
he therefore remained at the window, wrapt in thought, and gazing 
upon the fantastic shadows which were thrown across the road by 
the rellection of the moon-beams. Suddenly, however, his attention 
was drawn to two men, who had just turned a corner of the road, 
and were advancing in the direction of the house. As well as his 
sight would permit him to discern, the persons of the men appeared 
to be familiar to him ; and as they advanced nearer, he was not a 
little surprised to recognize Will Barnsley and Saib. 

Wondering what they could want together at such a strange hour, 
and ai)|)rehending that they intended no good, (for Richard had never 
liked the j)irate captain, although he hail contrived to insinuate him- 
self into the favor oi' Tom,) he was half inclined to arouse his uncle ; 
but then thinking it might cause considerable alarm, he abandoned 
the thought, and resolved to watch them narrowlj^ instead. 

They were evidently buried in deep conversation ; and from the 
extravagant gestures of the black, it appeared to be something of 



76 GALLANT TOM. 

importance. Having reached the house, they paused, and Saib 
looked up with a look of savage meaning, and addressing hinaself to 
his companion, said : 

" In this house is one of the principal objects of my hatred ; the 
bane of my peace ; the hated brat, whom I " 

The wind carried away the other part of the sentence, and left 
the extraordinary curiosity which the tenor of the speech had excit- 
ed in Richard's bosom ungratified. 

" All is still in the house," Richard at last heard the black remark ; 
"the inmates are wrapt in sleep; it would be no difficult matter to 
force an entrance, and then the deed I have before tried to effect, 
could be perpetrated without danger. By hell — " 

"Hold!" exclaimed Barnsley, "would you spoil everything? — 
What occasion is there for this risk, when all that you can wish can 
be accomplished in the way I have suggested to you, without the 
least danger? Come away — come away — the morning will break 
soon, and, I must aboard! Fear not ; what I have promised you, I 
will accomplish ! Grim Barnsley never yet fixed his mind upon the 
execution of anything, which he afterwards failed in." 

''Be it so," said Saib, turning reluctantly away, " I will trust to 

you." 

" You may do so with safety ; the plot is ripening, ai>d soon " 

Another gust of wind which swept around the gable of the house, 
again rendered the last words of Will Barnsley 's speech inaudible ; 
but Richard had gathered quite suf3ficient from it, to convince him 
that there was some villanous stratagem in contemplation by the 
pirate and the African, which was directed against himself and his 
family. 

Will Barnsley had been a constant visitor at The Old Commo- 
dore, for the last few days, and Richard had taken notice of the par- 
ticular attention he had paid to Tom and himself; and the for- 
mer had several times expressed a good opinion of the pirate, and 
said he was a very good sort of fellow, and just the man he should 
like to sail under, if he was in the merchant service. When Mat 
had expresssed a contrary opinion and said, that there was some- 
thing very coarse and disagreeable about his manners, which was 
far from taking his fancy, Tom had combated it strenuously, and 
said, that although he was rather plain in his manners, it shewed that 
it was an honest, blunt disposition, and he liked him all the better 
for it. 

Richard was, however, as we have before stated, far from being 
prepossessed in favor of the captain or his crew,-who were all dark 
and savage-looking men, and inspired him with a feeling of dread 
whenever he beheld them. The lad, too, from certain things which 
he had noticed, and from words which the men belonging to her had 
inadvertently dropped, had strong suspicions that The Nancy was 
not a fair trading vessel, and had ventured to hint the same to Tom ; 
but he would not listen to it for a moment ; and reproached Richard 
for being too ready to suspect a thing. In fact, the fancy which 
Tom had imbibed for the society of Will Barnsley, was so great. 



GALLANT TOM. TT 

that he was with liim at every opportunity., and nothing could be 
more favorable to the pirate's nefarious designs, than the present po- 
sition of aft'airs. 

The circumstance which Richard had observed, and the conver- 
sation he had overheard between Barnsley and Saib, he had no doubt 
would alter the opinions of Tom, and render him cautious not to be 
trepanned into any plot which might be laid against him ; so thought 
Richard, and we shall see whether or not his surmises were verified. 

As soon as he heard the inmates of the house stirring about, Richr 
ard sought the presence of old Mat ; and in the first place, related 
to him all the particulars of the singular visit which the unknown 
had paid him. lie of course expected to see his uncle evince great 
surprise, upon being made acquainted with this circumstance ; but to 
his astonishment, Fie evinced not the least emotion, and only said 
that he must have been mistaken, and have been laboring under the 
delusion of a dream ; for how was it possible that any person could 
gain access to the house without their knowledge, when he had him- 
self seen that every door and window was properly secured before 
he had retired to rest ? 

Richard, however, protested earnestly that he could not possibly 
have been deceived ; in pj-oof of which he mentioned the circum- 
stance of his having heard the stranger close the outer door, and 
also watching him from the casement afterwards. But Mat did not 
seem to like the subject ; and still alTecting to treat Richard's state- 
ment with incredulity, he was about to leave the room, to attend 
upon his business, when Richard detained him and related what he 
had afterwards seen, and the brief dialogue he had overheard be- 
tween Will Barnsley and Saib. Mat listened to this attentively, 
but with the same expression of incredulity, and when he had done, 
he laughed and said : 

" Avast heaving there, Dick ! — avast. You are throwing the 
hatchet a little bit, now I think, or else your top-lights were rather 
misty when you fancied you saw all these things. 1 tell you you 
have been dreaming, lad." 

" Indeed, my dear uncle," answered Richard, vexed at the scepti- 
cism of his uncle, " I was as wide awake as I am at the present mo- 
ment. They stood beneath the casement at which 1 had placed 
myself, and, as the moon was shining brightly at the time, I could 
see everything as clearly as if it had been broad daylight." 

"Pshaw !" exclaimed Mat, as he turned away ; " the boy has be- 
come crazed to a certainty ! — What should we fear from such lub- 
bers, if even there was any truth about what you say ? — It was all 
fancy — nothing but a dream." 

With these words Mat retired from the room, leaving Richard dis- 
appointed and chagrined at the result of his communication. — 
Neveitheless, he determined to make Tom acquainted with the cir- 
cumstance, and then if anything did occur,- he should not have him- 
self to blame for neglecting to give them timely warning. With 
Tom, however, he met with even worse success. The honest-heart- 
ed sailor, incapable of deceit himself, was not ready to suspect it in 



78 GALLANT TOM. 

Others: he, therefore, strongly defended the character of Barnsley, 
and was of the same opinion as Mat. Richard determined, at all 
events, to keep a sharp eye upon the conduct of Barnsley, whenever 
he came to the house in future. 



The malady of Fitzoshert increased : the knowledge of those per- 
sons whom he had injured being so near him, and a strange forebod- 
ing that the time was not far distant when his iniquities would be 
brought to light and shame, ignominy and disgrace descend upon 
His head, continually haunted his imagination, and made him wretch- 
ed. The plot which Saib had formed, by no means gave him satis- 
faction ; on the contrary, he never believed that he would succeed ; 
and if he did he saw no hope of any abatement in his anguish, or 
the danger he was in from such a circumstance. 

The insolent behavior of Saib also gave the earl considerable un- 
easiness ; and there were times, when he could have rushed upon 
him, and plunged a knife to his heart, and thus have rid himself of 
the only^one who was acquainted with all his dreadful secrets. 

And now was the guilty Fitxosbert further tormented by the re- 
ports continually being made by the domestics, of strange noises 
that they heard in the house, at all hours of the night : and many ol 
them went so far as to declare that it was haunted, and that they 
had seen a tall figure, enveloped in a dark mantle, stalking through 
the hall at midnight ; and were nightly so annoyed by dismal groans, 
as if proceeding from some person in dying agony, that they could 
not sleep. 

Every night these noises were said to increase rather than abate ; 
and several of the domestics quitted the earl's service, declaring that 
nothing should induce them to remain in a house, which now seemed 
to have become the chosen haunt of some evil spirit or spirits. 

On the day succeeding that on which Richard had seen Barnsley 
and Saib together, the earl had been more than usually melancholy, 
which was considerably increased by the time which the black had 
absented himself, he being always fearful of treachery when he did 
so. He felt uncommonly depressed upon the occasion we have 
mentioned, and a presentiment of some approaching calamity tor- 
mented his mind, which he in vain endeavored to shake off; but 
when night came and still Saib did not make his appearance, his 
anxiety and uneasiness became almost insupportable. He arose 
from the sofa on which he had been reclining, and walked to the 
window and looked out; but it was now quite dark, and he was not 
able to distinguish any other objects than the black shadows of the 
tall pines in the grounds attached to the mansion. 

He returned once more to the sofa, and threw himself upon it — 
his mind was tortured, and his brain feverish. Suddenly, a deep 
sigh met his ear ; and raising his head, he was horror-struck on be- 
holding a tall figure, such as had been described by the servants, 
standing with folded arms exactly opposite to him, and with his 
piercing eyes fixed full upon his countenance. 

The earl's blood curdled in his veins : his heart seemed to be fro- 



GALLANT TOM. 79 

zen into a lump of ice — his limbs shook with violent agitation, and 
in a voice of horror, he cried : — 

"Christ save me! — Shade of the murdered Lionel, avaunt ! I 
dare not — I cannot encounter thy dreadful gaze ! Nay, fix not thy 
glassy eyes on me ! — It was not 1 who struck the fatal blow ! — Hor- 
ror ! horror ! away !" 

'' Robert Fitzosbert," said the supposed phantom, solemnly, " the 
day of retribution is at hand ; repent and make all the atonement 
in your power ere it is too late ! Ere long justice will overtake 
you. and a terrible punishment will be the certain reward for the 
manv crimes you have perpetrated! — Beware! — repent!" 

"Mercy! mercy!" shrieked the horror-struck earl, as he sunk 
i)ack on the sofa, and covering his face with his hands, he became 
insensible. 

To what a sense of horror did the wretched Fitzosbert awaken! 
The torments of perdition could scarcely be greater than the earthly 
hell he endured from the pangs he inflicted by his self-accusing con- 
science. That he had seen a phantom, he firmly believed ; and 
when he recalled to his memory the ghastly looks it had fixed upon 
him. and the horrible words it had uttered, he shuddered with hor- 
ror, and was almost afraid to remain in his chamber with no other 
person present than his medical attendant. 

" Hide me ! shield me from his awful gaze !" he would rave.— 
•' Fools ! why do you stand there gazing upon me, and not start for- 
ward to protect me from his terrible vengeance ? Ah ! see — he ap- 
proaches towards me ! His cheeks which erst were redolent of the 
bloom of health, now wear the hue of the charnel-house — his eyes, 
the filmy dimness of death ! Oh, horror! I cannot bear the sight! 
Death — death itself, even in its most awful shape, would be prefer- 
able to this torture ! He comes nearer ! — He raises his long bony 
hands to grasp my throat ! — I see his icy touch upon me ! — Dead 
spirit of my murdered brother, mercy, mercy !" 

The doctor looked upon the servants he had called to his assist- 
ance, and shook his head gravely ; they followed his example, and 
shook their heads solemnly at one another, and slowly left the room. 
Fitzosbert shortly afterwards sunk into a state of torpor, from which 
the doctor having ordered him not to be disturbed, left the house. 

We will now leave the wretched Fitzosbert for a while, and re- 
mrn to " The Old Commodore," where the usual party were assem- 
.)led, consisting of Tom, Will Barnsley, several of the crew of the 
pirate brig, and some other sailors from the diflferent vessels then 
lying in the port. 

More than a week had elapsed, and Saib and Barnsley, who had 
been constantly together, had so matured their plot, that they had 
not the least doubt of meeting with success, and determined to put 
it into execution on the following day. 

Will Barnsley seemed in unusual spirits, and the grog passed 
briskly round, — mirth being the order of the day. The pirate cap- 
tain acted his part remarkably well ; although there were times 
when the surpassing loveliness of Ellen so excited his admiration, 



80 GALLANT TOM. 

that it was with extreme difficulty he could help betraying his real 
thoughts and wishes. 

There was one, however, whose keen eye watched closely every 
action of Will Barnsley, and who read everything that was passing 
in his mind. This was Richard ; who, as he beheld the bold glances 
with which the pirate ever and anon eyed his fair cousin, felt his 
young blood boil with indignation, and he could hardly restrain the 
expression of his rage. 

" You say right, Tom," observed Barnsley, in reply to something 
which the former had been saying ;" you ought to think yourself 
one of the happiest fellows in the world to possess the heart of such 
a lass as your pretty Ellen — and you should love her " 

"Love her!" interrupted Tom, vehemently, — "love her! damme, 
I cannot find words to give expression to the passion I feel for my 
Ellen ! She is my ship, my chart, my life. By day, by night — in 
the calm, and in the st^rm, — -her image was always my beacon-light 
— the point from which the compass of my soul never varied. When- 
ever I see her, n)y heart is as light as a feather, and skips about like 
a cork in a fair breeze. And as I mean to remain in the navy, it is 
my determination not to go afloat again until I am spliced to her." 

"It strikes me that you deceive yourself, my lad," muttered 
Barnsley, aside. " Well said," he observed ; " I like your spirit : as 
for me, the ocean is my only bride, and to her I am wedded, heart 
and soul. You have never inspected my craft, I believe, Tom ?" 

"I have not," answered Tom, "although you have several times 
invited me on board : I shall sail alongside of you some of these 
times though." 

" You will not find a better vessel, for her size, in the whole mer- 
chant service, than the ' Nancy,' " said Barnsley. " She stems the 
waves like a water-sylph, and is as graceful upon its bosom as a fairy. 
But I don't want to speak so much in favor of her myself; seeing 
is believing, you know; but I would advise you to lose no time if 
you feel inclined to ins[>ect her: we sail on Monday next." 

"Splice my topsails!" exclaimed Tom, "you are such a jovial 
fellow, that I wish I was going to sail with you." 

" Perhaps you may have your wish sooner than you expect," again 
murmured the pirate captain, aside. 

" What say you to to-morrow ?" asked Tom. 

" You couldn't have selected a better time," exclaimed Barnsley, 
scarcely able to conceal his joy, at the easy manner in which the 
honest sailor fell into his plot. " I had almost forgotten that ; and 
yet I came here almost for the express purpose of inviting you to 
come on board to-morrow. It is the anniversary of my birth, and 
I always celebrate it on board my ship. We shall have a com- 
fortable party ; and you need not fear to bring your pretty Ellen 
with you, for there will be plenty of respectable females aboard. 
What say you? Will you persuade your sweetheart to honor the 
old captain with her company ?" 

" Aye, aye ; to be sure I will, captain," said Tom ; "and I know 



GALLANT TOM. 81 

she will be glad to sail with me wherever I think proper to cruise. 
We will sure be aboard." 

"All right," said Barnsley, with a smile, which Tom took to be 
one of welcome. " I shall expect you at an early hour ; but do not 
neglect to bring your sweetheart along with you, or it will be a 
great disappointment to us all. Here's Master Richard, too; will 
you not make one of the party, my lad ?" 

" I have business to transact in another place," replied Richard, 
with an air of much carelessness as the nature of his thoughts 
would allow him to assume, "and cannot avail myself of your invi- 
tation, sir." 

"Avast there, Dick," ejaculated Tom ; "I must not hear of any 
excuses from you : you must put off your business till the next day, 
for I am resolved that you shall go ; and I know you would not like 
to be away from any place which was attended by your cousin 
Ellen. You may enter his name, captain, — I will answer for his 
coming." 

Richard made no further objection, for he saw it would be useless; 
and he hoped that he should be able to persuade Tom to abandon 
all idea of fulfilling his promise. He now saw in a moment through 
the whole of the villainous design ; and he trembled lest Tom should 
remain obstinate, and persist in going on board the pirate ship — for 
such he felt assured tlie Nancy in reality was — for that it was the 
captain's plan to detain them when he got them aboard ; and to this 
he imagined that he was not only instigated by the miscreant Saib, 
but also from a desire which he had to get the beauteous Ellen in 
his power. He marked well the savage look of exultation which 
passed over the features of Barnsley when he elicited the assent of 
Tom ; and he also noticed the change which his countenance evinced 
when he (Richard) endeavored to excuse himself from being one of 
the party, which were convincing proofs that his surmises were cor- 
rect ; and he was determined that there should be no exertion want- 
ing on his part to endeavor to frustrate the design. 

" At what time may I expect you ?" demanded the pirate. 

"Oh, I shall be on board early," replied Tom: "where there is 
merry-making, Tom Clewline is always ready at the first sound of 
the boatswain's whistle. Good night." 

"Good night, my lad," said Barnsley, pulling up the collar of his 
pea-jacket, and unable to repress the feeling of gratification w^hich 
filled his bosom at the thoughts of his success. " Come, my men." 

With these words, the pirate captain and his companions arose 
and left the house, and Tom, Richard, and two or three other sailors, 
were all that were left behind. These, one by one, having finished 
their grog, retired also; and Tom, having kissed the cheek of Ellen, 
and heartily shook the hands of old Mat and the dame, prepared to 
leave the house. 

" As it is a fine night, and I want to walk," said Richard, "I will 
walk a little way with you, Tom, if it is agreeable." 

" Agreeable !" repeated Tom ; " aye, to be sure it is ; so just tow 
yourself alongside of me, and we will anchor directly, for my sister 



82 GALLANT TOM. 

is all alone, and will get as dull as a sailor without flip, if I do not 
soon rojoin hcv." 

VVIien 'I'otn and the others had got out of sight and hearing, the 
piralc captain indulged in a hearty burst of laughter, to think how 
well his nefarious jilans liad so far succeeded. 

'' Fool !" he exclaimed, exultingly, " I did not think him such a 
swab as to fall so readily into the trap laid for him. lla ! ha ! — how 
enraged and disappointed he will be when he finds out what sort of 
craft the Nancy is, and the Character of the men he has to deal 
with. This is the best job I have had for a long while ; and the 
girl even is worth all the prizes 1 have taken for the last two years. 
Well, she shall fnid the i»irate captain not a bad companion — that is, 
if she does not at(cni|)t to cros.s me." 

With these words, JJarnsloy and his conipanions stepped into the 
boat, and were quickly rowed alongside the pirate brig. When they 
got or) board, B^irnsley found that S;iib was waiting to see him, and 
was. all anxiety to know how he had proceeded. 

" Well, ca[)tain, what success ?" demanded the black, eagqrly. 

" Why as well as we could desire," returned the pirate. 

" Ah!" exclaimed the African, while a grim smile passed over his 
sable countenance ; "and have they fallen into our j)lot?" 

" They have ; and to-morrow they will be on board my craft." 

" By hell ! this is glorious," exclaimed Saib, in accents of tri- 
umph. " ]3arnsley, you have managed this business so far ad- 
mirably !" 

" Will i^arnsley seldom lails in what he undertakes to perform," 
replied the pirate. 

" But the brat, Richard," said the black ; "what of him ?" 

" lie will be one of the party," was the answer. 

" Good ! iJy my soul, Barnsley, if you complete this business 
with the same skill as you have begun it, you deserv6 an addition to 
the reward which I have jM-omised you." 

"And trust me, Saib, 1 will have it." 

"Ah!" cried the black, looking suspiciously at the captain, ''what 
mean you ?" 

" Oh ! I dare say you understand me," remarked Barnsley, smiling 
significantly and sarcastically upon Saib — "this boy is a great eye- 
sore to you and Fit/.i^sbert ; of course, it would not be very pleasant 
to either of you to let the world know this?" 

Saib frowned ; and, walking to another part of the deck, mat* 
tered to himself, — 

" I have divulged too much : Barnsley already knows the advan- 
tage he has gained over me 'and Fit/.osbert, and will, no doubt, avail 
himself of the op])ortmiity I have thus thrown into his hands. Fooi 
that 1 have been! — I have had to pay already dearly enough for it 
and it will cost me much more, ere I can accomplish my wishes. 
Curses light upon the ill-luck which has hitherto prevented mo 
from j)utting into execution my schemes against the hated boy !' 

Turning to the pirate cai)tain, Saib said, " but, of course, Barnsley 



OAIXANT TOM. $3 

admittino; that you were certuin of what you now only suspect, you 
would not l)c tiie one that would publish the same to the world ?" 

" That depends upon circumstances." 

" You would never so deceive your friend ?" 

" Friend ! — pshaw ! I have no friends. I seek none. My maxim 
is to make as much as I can, and study no one but myself. That is 
the motive from which most persons act, although they may pretend 
to the contrary. You act upon that principle in your engagement 
with me, Saib, and of course I must make you pay for it. How 
far my service or my silence may be considered valuable, rests en- 
tirely with yourself, and " 

"Come, come, enough of this. Will," interrupted the African; 
"you were not wont to talk thus." 

" Perhaps not ; but experience makes fools wise. That is the 
style I now choose." 

" Well, I dare say we shall not quarrel." 

" I dare say not." 

" That boy might be easily tossed overboard." 

" Exactly. And he might as well be sold as a slave, and then 
he would bring some profit for the trouble he may put me to." 

" [t would be better that he were given as Ibod for the sharks, for 
they would end him." 

" No doubt yoit think so," said the pirate significantly. 

Saib scowled, and, traversed the deck with uneasy steps. He now 
repented, or half repented, having confided so much to Barnsley, 
and above all, he regretted that he had made any arrangement 
with him about taking Richard at all. 

" Well, well," at length he said, after a few minutes' reflection ; 
" I think, after all, it will be as well to leave the lad out alto- 
gether." 

'•Here you and I differ," answered Barnsley, with another signifi- 
cant smile, which was anything but pleasant to the African : " I 
have no doubt I shall turn him to some account before I have done 
with him." 

"Not if I can help it," muttered Saib to himself; "I must con- 
trive somehow or other to prevent the boy from falling into your 
power, and I dare say I shall be able to dispose of him myself 
sometime or other. Well," he added, aloud, to Barnsley, "1 shall 
leave everything to you ; and of course you will not act otherwise 
than right ?" 

" Oh, of course not ; I am a very honorable sort of a fellow — ha, 
ha, ha !" 

" You seem in a merry mood, Barnsley." 

" Aye, aye, — what's the use of being sad, especially when a man 
has the prospect of so much additional iiappiness ?" 

" What mean you ?" 

'• Why the person of the pretty Ellen," replied the pirate ; " is 
she not a prize, thiidc you, sufficient to urge a man to anything to 
obtain possession of her ?" 

" You say right. Will," answered Saib," "and therefore ought you 



84 GALLANT TOM. 

to feel grateful to me for having put you in the way to obtain pos- 
session of her." 

" Avast there, my sable land lubber !" said the pirate ; " I should 
have had her whether or not, for she had taken my fancy ; and 
• previous to your making to me the proposition that you have done. 
I had fully made up my mind to have her in my power, if it cost me 
my life even in the attempt ; and you know, Saib, that I am not 
one who easily gives up anything upon which I have fixed my 
mind." 

" But methinks the eyes of her parents and her lover would prove 
too keen for you. They keep too strict a watch over her." 

"They might keep a watch over her," said Will, "as if she was 
a barrel of gunpowder, expected to go off with the first spark ; but 
they would have been sure to have found me too cunning for them. 
But come, there's enough of this : by this time, or before to-morrow, 
they will all of them be in my power." 

" I hope so." 

" And what is there to fear ?" 

"Did they seem to catch the bait easily?" 

" Why, as for that matter, Tom has taken such a fancy to me — 
my usual insinuating manners have so got over him — that he thinks 
me one of the best fellows in the world, and was ready enough to 
accept my invitation. But the boy, Richard " 

"Ah! What of him?" 

" Why he did not seem to fancy it, and tried to excuse himself 
from being one of the party," replied Barnsley. 

" The shrewd brat !" cried Saib, in a tone of vexation ; " he 
guesses the whole plot !" 

"Pshaw! — Impossible! But come, enough of this. Fear not, 
but all will be well and succeed as well as we can wish." 

" I hope so." 

" You'll take a glass of grog before you depart ?" demanded 
Barnsley. 

Saib nodded assent, and the pirate captain led the way to the 
forecastle, where the pirates had already assembled, and were ca- 
rousing gaily, and Barnsley and Saib having joined them, riotous 
mirth soon prevailed. 

After about an hour passed in this manner, Saib arose to quit the 
vessel, having informed Barnsley that he should be there on the fol- 
lowing day to receive those he so mortally detested in a manner 
which his revengeful feelings dictated. 

In the meantime, Richard, whom we left in company with Tom, 
intending to accompany him a short distance on the way home, did 
not fail to explain to him his suspicions as to the real character of 
Barnsley, and the treachery that was intended them, and endeavor- 
ed to persuade him from going the following day on board the pirate's 
brig, according to the promise he had made Will Barnsley ; but Tom 
only laughed, at his fears, and finding that all the arguments he could 
make use of, would not be of any avail, he gave up the attempt, and 



GALLANT TOM. 85 

bidding Tom ,G;ood night, separated from him, and made his way 
back towards The Old Commodore. 

Richard, liowever, found it impossible to divest his mind of the 
suspicions it had imbibed, and he walked on at a slow pace, through 
the fields ruminating upon the subject, and darkness had completely 
enveloped the earth by the time he left Tom. It was a fine night, 
and therefore, he did not hurry himself, the air being refreshing. He 
had just emerged upon one of the green lanes, when his arm was 
suddenly arrested violently by some person close by, and looking 
around, what was his terror and astonishment to behold the fierce 
eyes of Saib fixed with revengeful fiuy upon him. 

"Ah !" exclaimed the wretch, in a tone of exultation, which was 
perfectly fiendish, '' the opportunity I have so long, so ardently wished 
for has arrived. I swore that you should not escape my clutches, 
and now I have you in my power, your doom is sealed. Hated brat 
— bane of my peace : the imp who foiled me in my deep laid scheme 
of vengeance, which would have immolated me and all my foes — 
this night — this hour, you die." 

'•Oh. Saib," ejaculated Richard, trembling with terror beneath 
the ferocity of his glance, and vainly trying to release himself from 
the fellow's powerful grasp, " why should you seek in the first in- 
stance to take my life. I never offended you ; I could not have 
given you cause for anger, and cannot account for the hatred and 
revenge you have ever exhibited towards me. I implore you to re- 
lease me, and suffer me to proceed about my' business, and I promise 
you that no one shall be informed of the attack you have just made 
upon me." 

" Fool ! — idiot!" cried Saib, •' think you the wolf will so easily re- 
sign his prey ? Ha, ha, ha ! You plead in vain ; indeed your an- 
guish but serves to add to my delight. This spot you shall never 
more quit alive. There is no one near — no one to rescue you, and 
give me over to punishment. Thus, then, do I perform the bloody 
deed for which I have so long prayed. Earl Fitzosbert, your fear 
will now be at an end. Die ! hated offspring of " 

" Die yourself, you damned black swab !" exclaimed the well- 
known voice of Tom, just as Saib had dashed the lad to the earth, 
and was about to plunge a knife in his breast. 

After Tom parted from Richard, some misgivings crossed his mind, 
and notwithstanding the anxiety he knew his sister would feel at his 
long absence, he turned back thinking to overtake him again, and 
resolved to be his companion back to the inn. It will be seen that 
he came up at the critical moment when Richard's life was about to 
i'all a sacrifice to the diabolical vengeance of the African. 

The report of a pistol immediately followed the words of the Gal- 
lant Tom, and then a cry of agony escaped the black, as he clapped 
his hand to his arm, and staggered back a few paces, crying, in a 
voice hoarse with rage and pain, — 

•' By the infernal host I'm shot! What foul fiend hath done this? 
Ah, the sailor — the — oh, curses light upon his head." 

"Another word like that, you cowardly shark," observed Tom, 



ISP GALLANT TOM. 

" and damme, if I don't blow your brains out directly. However, this 
shall be the last time you shall have a chance of gratifying your 
blood-thirsty disposition. If there is any justice to be obtained in 
the country, you shall be punished for this. But as 1 don't wish you 
to escape the retribution you deserve, I will bind up your wound, 
which seems to be an awkward one, and securing you to this tree, 
leave you here until I can get the officers of the law to lay their 
grappling irons upon you." 

"May the bitterest malediction of the black man descend upon 
your head," vociferated Saib, groaning with rage and pain, while 
Tom, in spite of his kicking and biting him, persisted in binding up 
the wound in his arm with a handkerchief, and having fastened him 
to a tree, so that it would be impossible for him to release himsell — 
in that far from agreeable situation he left him, hurried Richard 
away from the spot, and made his way to town. 

In less than half an hour, Tom returned to the place where he 
had left the black, accompanied by a couple of officers, but was as- 
tonished to find Saib not there. He was extremely vexed at this 
circumstance, for he had hoped to put an end to all further annoy- 
ance from the African, but he had again escaped him. However, it 
was hoped that it would not be long before he was apprehended, and 
Tom immediately dispatched the officers to the mansion of the Earl 
Fitzosbert, to see whether he was there ; but the earl assured them 
that he had seen nothing of his myrmidon since the day before, and 
appeared to be extremely agitated when the officers briefly informed 
him of the circumstance that had taken place. 

" Bungling fool !" ejaculated the earl when left to himself, " he is 
aHvays foiled in his rash and badly-planned attempts. And now do 
I more than ever see good reason for my being anxious that the plot 
laid by the pirate captain and Saib, to entrap Tom and the boy- 
should succeed. They must be got out of the way, or when Saib 
is taken, which he undoubtedly will be, their evidence may be the 
means of concluding certain circumstances that will at once reveal 
the dark and nefarious deeds of which we have been guilty. Oh, 
what a weight of care, of continual fear and uneasiness does this 
guilt bring with it." 

He traversed his room in a state of great agitation, and then sum- 
moned one of his confidential servants, and late as it was desired 
him to make all inquiries he possibly could, to ascertain what had 
become of Saib, and not to forget to see Captain Barnsley, and 
learn from him whether he knew anything of him. 

The man returned in about a couple of hours with the information 
that Saib was on board the pirate brig, and was not so severely in- 
jured as had been imagined, but that he thought it v/ould be advis- 
able to remain where he was for the present, until after the comple- 
tion of the plot. 

It appeared, that soon after Tom and Richard had left him bound 
to the trunk of the tree as we have described, some of the crew of 
the pirate-ship happened to be passing that way, when they were 
attracted to the spot by the groans and curses of the black, and im- 



GALLANT TOM. 87 

mediately released him, and conveyed him to the vessel ; and thus 
the earl's fears were in a great measure quieted. 

This event increased the surprise of Richard, and much increased 
his apprehensions, more especially when he heard of tiie escape 
of Saib, for which he was unable to account. He recollected the 
remarkable words which Saib had made use of in relation to him- 
self and Fitzosbert, and when he added to them the recent circum- 
stances that had taken phice, he could not help thinking that there 
WPS some mystery connected with iiim, in which the earl was con- 
cerned, and which time would probably unravel. He slept but little 
that night, and when he did, strange visions haunted his imagina- 
tion, and rendered sleep more fatiguing than his waking moments. 
Richard was heartily glad when he awoke and found it was morn- 
ing, and he therefore arose and descended into the breakfast-room, 
where he found the little family already assembled, and awaiting his 
appearance. 

" Why, Dick — boy," said Mat, after eyeing him for a moment, 
" you look as queer and as melancholy as if you had been put upon 
six-water grog. What's the matter with you ?" 

" I have not slept well," replied Richard, " and what little sleep I 
have had has been disturbed by frightful dreams." 

" Dreams !" repeated old Mat ; " oh, there's nothing in them ; why, 
if what I have dreamt at different times had come true, I should 
at this time have been as rich as an emperor. But you have not 
greeted Ellen this morning ; she looks as pretty as an angel, and has 
rigged herself in her best. I warrant there is not a trimmer or a 
better looking craft going." 

Richard saluted Ellen in an affectionate manner ; but his sadness 
he could not overcome, and it did not escape the observation of Mat 
and the others. " Well, splice me, Dick," said Mat, " I cannot make 
out what can be the matter with you. You should be merry to-day. 
as the invitation of Captain Barnsley " 

" The truth is," answered Richard, " I do not like that Captain 
Barnsley, nor the invitation he has given us ; I would fain dissuade 
Tom and Ellen fron* going on board his ship to-day, for I suspect 
him to be a pirate." 

" Oh, father," observed Ellen, "something tells me that Richard's 
remarks ought not to be treated lightly. I would rather not go on 
board to-day," 

" Nonsense !" cried Mat ; " you have both gone crazy, I think. 
For my part, I consider there is not the least cause for any appre- 
iiension of the sort. But what does Tom say about the matter ?" 

At this moment, Tom entered the room. " Oh, here is Tom," 
said Mat, — "just in time to speak for himself Richard has been 
spinning a yarn, enough to give us all the blues. He thinks Barns- 
ley is a pirate, and this invitation will turn out to be no good, and 
had better be avoided." 

"Bah!" cried Tom, impatiently; "Vou mustn't mind what Dick 
says on this occasion. My dearest Ellen, I see you are ready, and 
all as taut and trim as — but, danune, you are looking pale, and you 



88 GALLANT TOM. 

tremble ! I suppose Dick's fears has been catching ; but do noi 
give way to them, while you place your trust in the great Com- 
mander aloft, and your lover is by your side, you have nothing to 
dread." 

"I know it, Tom," said Ellen, with a sweet smile, "and will, 
therefore, banish the suspicions that, I confess, had taken possession 
of my mind, from the observations of my cousin, and which, of 
course, were only meant for the best, and made from the most affec- 
tionate motives." 

" To be sure they were," said the honest sailor ; " we are all 
liable to mistakes, you know. But, will you accompany us, Dick ?" 

" Will I ? — certainly ! But I am extreniely doubtful whether you 
ought to treat the matter so lightly." 

" Well, we shall see," said Tom. " Barnsley would soon be brought 
to his senses if he endeavored to detain me ; for am I not a king's 
man ?" 

" You're right, Tom," said Mat, "and so there's an end to the 
matter, I hope. I wish you a merry day of it, and shall expect you 
before late at night." 

" Oh, yes, father, (I soon shall have a right to call you so) never 
fear, I will convey my Ellen safe into port again before the moon 
rises." With these words, they shook liands, and separated. 

Mat had affected to despise the suspicions of Richard, but was 
far from being successful. lie several times I'epented having so 
readily given his consent to Ellen's going on boanl, more especially 
as he, after they had departed for some time, recollected having seen 
Barnsley and the African, who had proved himself such an impla- 
cable foe, in earnest conversation together, and he was inclined to 
act upon the principle of "Judge a man by the company he keeps," 
yet he had never seen or heard anything from him, to cause the 
least suspicion, he therefore would not judge harshly of him, as Saib 
and he might have had business to transact of a nature quite foreign 
to anything wrong. Notwithstanding these conflicting thoughts, the 
day passed away uncomfortably with Mat and his wife ; the latter, 
in spite of his precaution, having caught ]^e infection. Twice 
during the day he walked to the beach, to see whether the Nancy 
was still at anchor, and having beheld her there, his mind became 
more at rest ; although frequently lialf inclined to take a boat and 
row alongside the vessel, to see if all were right ; but then the idea 
that he should be laughed at for his groundless fears, he abandoned 
the design and returned home. As evening approached. Mat and 
the dame became still more uneasy ; and as twilight was rapidly 
•leclining into the more sombre shades of night, he hastened once 
more to the sea-beach, determined to row to the Nancy, and ascer- 
tain the reason they did not return home. Arriving, and eagerly 
casting his eyes across the ocean, he could not discover any signs 
of the Nancy. Horror-riven and astonished, he scarcely believed 
the evidence of his senses, but alter a few minutes a full sense of 
the truth came across his mind. He inquired of all the persons 
whom he met near the spot, and particularly the coast-guard, how 



GALLANT TOM. 89 

oiior it was since the Nancy had weighed her anchor, and whether 
they had seen or knew anything of Tom, Richard, and Ellen. 
These ([uestions first directed the attention of the persons spoken 
to, to the sul)ject of the sudden disappearance of the ship ; and when 
Mat repeated his tale, and the manner in which Tom and Ellen and 
Richard had been decoyed on board, it was immediately concluded 
l)y everybody present that it was a pirate, and immediate steps were 
taken to go in pursuit of her. 

in the meantime, notwithstanding the dismal forebodings of 
Richard, the gayety of Tom served almost entirely to dissipate the 
fears of Ellen ; and by the time they reached the boat which was 
to convey them to the ship, she was nearly restored to her usual 
spirits. 

Richard, ere they stepped into the boat, in which they found two 
of the crew of the Nancy awaiting their arrival, cast a doubtful 
glance towards the vessel, and once more endeavored to urge his 
suspicions, and persuade him to pause ; but Tom only laughed at 
his fears, and said if such were his ideas, he had better not run the 
risk, then he could not blame him. Richard, ashamed to be thought 
afraid to encounter danger, and unable to bear the thought of quitting 
his cousin Ellen, proudly rejected the proposition ; and, having stepped 
into the boat, they were quickly rowed alongside the Nancy, and 
went upon deck. Scarcely had they stepped upon deck, when they 
found themselves surrounded by a number of fierce-looking fellows, 
who exchanged glances with one another, and eyed the beauteous 
Ellen with looks of boldness that involuntarily made her shudder, 
and she clung closer to the arm of her lover. " Why, lass, how you 
tremble !" said Tom. " I wish Dick had not filled your mind with 
these qualms." 

At this moment, a loud burst of coarse, uproarious laughter, mixed 
with oaths, made Tom start with amazement, and chilled Ellen with 
terror. 

" They are rather jolly, certainly," said Tom. 

" Oh, Tom !" ejaculated Ellen, " I wish we had taken Richard's 
advice : my heart misgives me." 

" And not without good cause, I fear," said Richard, aside to his 
com|)anions : " trust me, this is no honest vessel !" 

" Eh — what — damme, if I thought " faltered Tom ; " but no 

no, I will not believe it ! — messmates, where's the captain ?" 

" This way, my lad," said one of the men, pointing to the door ot 
a cabin, — "this way; he desired me to show you to him." 

Before Tom could make any reply, the man had opened the door 
of the cabin, and Barnsley advanced to meet them, his features 
expressive of such strong feelings of exultation, occasioned by the 
success of his schemes, that it could not escape the observation of 
Tom and his companions. " Welcome, Tom, on board the Nancy; 
md you, fair lady, I greet you with pleasure." 

"Aye, aye, captain," said Tom, answering for Ellen; ''but where 
are our guests ? Of course, you have some more females aboard ?" 

The pirate captain answered with an ironical smile, "eh? — no." 



90 GALLANT TOM. 

" Damme, I suspect !" cried Tom. 

" Ha, ha, ha !" laughed the pirate ; " I thought our build would 
astonish you. The Nancy is no cockshell. Eh ?" 

"Ah, we are betrayed!" cried Tom. Ellen, with a loud scream, 
fell fainting in his arms. 

" Slip the cable and weigh anchor directly !" vociferated the pirate 
captain, to his men on deck. 

" Weigh anchor !" ejaculated Tom. " Why, you damned — but 
you are only jesting, captain !" 

" Jesting or not," answered Barnsley, "I do not suffer any lubber 
on board the Nancy to dispute my orders." 

"Hillo!" cried Tom, "here's a veer about. The vessel has set 
sail. You — you — you are " 

" Behold !" exclaimed the pirate, pulling the black flag from the 
locker. " It is a well-known ensign — a terrible sight to eyes unused 
to it." 

" The suspicions of Dick are confirmed," cried Tom. " You are 
a pirate." 

" A free-trader is a better word. I have shown you our ensign — 
you are in my power. If you refuse to obey my commands, you 
may stand a good chance of being spliced to yonder yard-arm." 

" Your commands ! Why, t am a king's man." 

" So much the luckier. You understand discipline the better. 
Why should the king have all the best hands ? But, come ; I will 
release you of your fair and insensible burden, the girl " 

" Stand off! Dare not to lay a finger on this poor girl, for I will 
strike you dead at my feet !" 

" Rash fool ! at my order your brains would be scattered on the 
deck. But I shall be able to make you of service to me. Bear the 
girl to my cabin," he continued, turning to his men ; " but harm her 
at your peril — she is the affianced bride of your captain." 

"Liar!" vociferated Tom, half maddened with rage, as several 
of the pirates rushed upon him and forced his lover from his arms, 
and secured him and Richard. " Villain !" 

" You may spare your epithets ; they are only a waste of breath ; 
you may be promoted to the yard-arm else. I have, however, an 
old acquaintance of yours on board, whom you may be happy to 
see." Thus speaking, the pirate captain made a sign towards the 
door v^'hich opened into an inner cabin, and immediately Saib came 
forward, and gazed with fiendish looks upon his victims. 

" Tom Clewline," cried the African, "I triumph and exult in your 
misery. Ha, ha ! in vain you writhe and foam with the power of 
your rage : you exhaust yourself in vain. Your sister, too, as you 
have called her, Rosina Burlington, ere many days, shall be the 
slave to the passions of the hated black, whom you ever have 
despised." 

"You infernal black swab !" exclaimed Tom, glowing with in- 
dignation, " if these lubbers would only take their grappling-irons off 
me, I would pour such a broadside iiito you that " 



GALLANT TOM. 91 

*' Away with him below !" commanded the pirate ; " I shall have 
some business with him by-and-bye." 

" Nay, but for a moment, captain," said Saib; "his rage is food 
to my soul ! And you, boy, you hateful brat, now I have you secure, 
and in a moment my knife can pierce your heart." 

" Avast, avast," exclaimed Barnsley, " not so fast. The boy shall 
be disposed of as I judge proper. It is time you were away, unless 
you think proper to take a voyage with us. Boat ahoy, there!" 

Saib stood gazing like a demon at Tom, until he was forced be- 
low, then sprang into the boat, which was swiftly rowed to the 
shore. 

At sunrise Barnsley ordered Tom to be brought into his cabin, 
and Riciiard was soon afterwards placed beside him. " You see, 
Tom," said he, "resistance to me would be complete madness. — • 
What say you — will you purchase your liberty in the ship, by en- 
tering your name as one of the crew ?" 

" Will you give me your word then, that if I give consent, you 
will not injure Ellen?" 

" I will. And now what do you say ?" 

" Why," said Tom, in a well-assumed tone, ''as I see it would be 
folly for me to oppose you, why, I suppose I must consent." 

Richard started when he heard the answer of Tom, and fixed 
upon him a look of astonishment ; but a significant glance from his 
friend quickh^ made him understand, and he became satisfied with 
the plan he could see he had in view. 

" You agree, then ?" demanded the pirate. 

" Upon this condition, I do," said Tom. 

" And the boy, will he follow your example?" 

"Of what use would it be to remain obstinate?" said Richard 
calmly. 

" Enough," said the pirate. " But remember, any treachery will 
be followed by a lingering death !" 

With these words he bade them, with the men who still held them 
in custody, to follow him on deck, and having seen them enter their 
names in* the book, said, " Mind how you act. There will be plenty 
on the look out for you. Away to your duty." As the pirate spoke, 
he started from the deck and entered the cabin in which Ellen had 
been placed under the care of a female who was on board. " Now 
my pretty lass, you must conqujer your timidity, and take me for 
your lover." 

"Away, away, monster!" exclaimed Ellen, and running to the 
foot of the ladder, " Help, help ! Tom, where are you ? Save me." 

In an instant Tom spiang down the ladder, and stepping between 
her and the pirate captain, stood in an attitude of defense. " You 
infernal villain!" he exclaimed, "is this the way you keep your 
word ■? Dannne, if you lay your grappling irons on her, I'll beat you 
till you have not a spark of life remaining." 

"Mutiny, r lutiny !" vociferated Barnsley. " You shall swing foi 
this. What, ho, there my men ! Death to the mutineer." 

The men led Tom away ; and prepared him for execution, when 



92 GALLANT TOM. 

the report of distant guns was heard, and one man on deck cried, 
" Sail coming up with us, on the larboard quarter." 

" Can you make her out ?" cried Barnsley. 

" She is a British frigate." 

" Ah," said Tom, " probably sent in pursuit of the bloody pirate." 
The man who had given notice of the appearance of tiie vessel, 
ejaculated, ''She nears us — they're close aboard." 

"Up men," shouted Barnsley, "if they attempt to board our 
decks, fire upon them. Life for life !" 

He led the way, sword in hand, and the men followed him upon 
deck. The fighting was terrific, and for some time was doubtful on 
both sides. At lerigth the pirate was boarded, and the carnage be- 
came dreadful. " Surrender, pirate !" cried the captain of the frigate, 
when he encountered Barnsley, " Surrender. Resistance is vain, 
you are chai-ged with the violent detention of one of our men. — 
Vou are charged with detaining on board one Ellen Saunderson. 
and Richard, her cousin, and for many acts of piracy." 

" All of which is true," returned Barnsley, with consummate cool- 
ness, " but I am not going to yield so readily. At the swabs again, 
my lads. Let us conqueror die." Encouraged by these words, the 
pirates rushed on their assailants and fought with desperate bravery, 
till they forced them to give way, many being driven overboard 
amid the buccaneers' demoniac shouts ; others made for the frigate, 
but it was discovered to be on fire, and in a few minutes was en- 
veloped in flames. In less than half an hour, the frigate was burn- 
ed to the water's edge, and every soul on board perished. The 
pirate brig had by that time got far away from the scene of the late 
horrors. 



The grief and distraction of Mat, his wife, and Rosina, at the dis- 
appearance of Ellen, Tom, and Richard, was powerful, beyond all 
conception. But the suspicions which Richard had given utterance 
to, and many other circumstances, that had come under his own 
personal observation, served to convince Mat that Barnsley was re- 
ally what the lad stated he thought he was, and that he had had 
this design in contemplation for some time. He therefore made 
ihe circumstance known at the proper place, and the frigate was 
dispatched in pursuit. A week elapsed and nothing was heard of 
the frigate, and during this time, Mat and the others felt their sus- 
pense increase almost to an insupportable degree. But the news 
reached them on the ninth day of the fate of the frigate, and the 
escape of the pirate ; and Rosina was reduced to a state bordering 
upon frenzy. 

In the meantime, the earl and Saib exulted in the success which 
had attended their designs, and the former felt more at ease than he 
had done for years, and highly applauded the ingenuity and perse- 
verance of his faithful creature. 

After several weeks elapsed, it was known that earl Fitzosbert in* 
tended to get up some extraordinary festivities, to celebrate the aiv 



GALLANT TOM. 93 

niversary of his birth, the principal of which was a masked fete, to 
whicli he had invited the neighborhood. 

At length the day arrived, and never had festivity and nairth been 
known to be carried to such an extent before in the earl's mansion. 
The masquerade was got up with much taste, and every one attend- 
ing seemed joyous and gay. 

At length, the earl becoming somewhat apart from the rest of the 
company, was startled by hearing his name pronounced in a solemn 
voice, from behind, and turning round, he beheld the tall figure of a 
black domino standing before him. 

" Fitzosbert," said the black domino, solemnly, "the blood of the 
murdered calls for vengeance ; and the time is coming when retri- 
bution shall overtake the assassin. Tremble." 

"Insolent intruder," cried the earl, fiercely, "who are you? for 
what purpose come you hither?" 

A hollow, derisive laugh was the only answer given, but raising 
his mask, the eyes of Fitzosbert fell upon a countenance, the con- 
templation of which seemed to freeze the blood in his veins. He 
trembled as he gazed upon the phantom, (for such he supposed it to 
be,) with speechless horror. The black domino seemed to behold 
his emotion with satisfaction, then repeating the word " tremble," 
he glided with the rapidity of thought among the joyous revelers. 

For a few minutes the earl remained on the spot where the black 
domino had left him, then suddenly starting, in a voice which reach- 
ed the ears of the guests, exclaimed, " Where is he ? whither is he 
gone ? He spoke of retribution. It was not I who " 

" Pshaw !" said Saib, who at the moment came up, but knew not 
what had taken place, " see you not the gazing listeners around ? — 
By hell, your folly will bring you to destruction." 

The earl gazed wildly upon the black, and then frantically ex- 
claimed : — 

"Ah, it was you who struck the fatal blow. Even now your 
hands are reeking with the blood." 

" Idiot," exclaimed Saib, as he dragged the earl towards his apart- 
ment, where he was put to bed. 

The festivities abruptly ceased, and the astonished guests, gazing 
upon each other with mysterious meaning, gradually dispersed. 

The raving of Fitzosbert becoming terrific, Saib endeavored to 
pacify him. " Why should we fear," said he, " have not those from 
whom we apprehended danger been removed?" 

" But my brother, Lionel " 

" Pshaw ! his bones have been moldering ' 

A deep groan interrupted him and made them both start ; but 
what was their horror to behold the same dark and mysterious form, 
which had before so awfully alarmed the guilty Fitzosbert, standing 
in the distant part of the chamber. 

The countenance of the supposed phantom was fully revealed to 
them, and its ghastly complexion ; the supernatural expression of 
the eyes, and the well-known features, smote their hearts and en- 
chained all their faculties. 



94 GALLANT TOM. 

" Spirit or demon !" cried the black, " I will ascertain the truth of 
this." With these words, Saib rushed towards the spot where the 
form stood, but before he could reach it, a hollow sepulchral laugh 
resounded through the apartment, and the mysterious figure van- 
ished. 

" By hell ! this is strange," muttered the African, returning to his 
terrified master; "can then, the dead rise up in judgment against 
us? Pshaw, I am getting as weak and fearful as Fitzosbert. Would 
that death would do its work with him, then should I fear but little, 
In his frenzy, he may disclose all ; and destruction to us both be the 
result." 

Thus passed away a week. Fitzosbert secluded in his own room, 
gave himself up to melancholy, and soul-harrowing refiections. As 
for Saib, he was seldom at home, and invariably since the mysteri- 
ous event had slept out. 

One evening as Saib was returning to his lodging, having to pass 
by The Old Commodore, curiosity or some unaccountable impulse 
induced him to peep through the casement into the parlor; judge 
his astonishment and delight, when tiie first object upon which his 
eyes rested was Rosina. She was seated in the company of Mat 
and wife, and although the most poignant anguish was depicted in 
the countenances of them all, the African thought he had never be- 
fore seen her look so handsome as she did on that occasion. Scarcely 
could the miscreant keep his rapture within the bounds of prudence, 
and as his eyes gloated upon the form of that girl whom he had marked 
for his victim, he could scarcely suppress a laugh of demoniacal ex- 
ultation. Here then she was all but in his clutch ; but should he 
attempt to seize upon her then ? No, it would be rash to do so, 
and would be sure to be frustrated ; for there were, doubtless, per- 
sons in the tavern, who would lend their assistance to Mat, and she 
would be easily rescued from him, and himself broughc to punishment 
for the outrage he had not only committed upon her, but Richard; 
and although all evidence of the latter offence was safely removed, 
he would be placed in a dilemma which would not be desirable. 
Knowing the need of caution, he came to the conclusion to be near 
the house, until she took her departure when he might watch whither 
she went, and at some future period devise a plan by which he 
might with safety seize her, and bearing her to some place of secu- 
rity, have her entirely in his power, and enforce her to submit to 
his will. * * * * * * 

In about an hour Rosina arose, and putting on her cloak, it was evi- 
dent that she was about to depart, and shortly afterwards she quitted 
the tavern accompanied by Mat. With the utmost difficulty did Saib 
keep from revealing himself to the poor girl and forcing her away 
from her companion ; but he did resist the temptation, and followed 
them at a distance, contriving to keep them constantly in sight, and 
concealing himself from their observation. In this manner he fol- 
lowed them to within a short distance of the house in which Rosina 
at present resided, and after bidding Mat good night, he saw her 
enter, and the latter began to retrace his footsteps to the tavern. 



GALLANT TOM. 95 

Saib sufTered him to pass on, and then walked closer up to the 
bouse, and went round it, gazing up at every window, with looks of 
tl>e most unbounded satisfaction and exultation. At length fearful 
that he might be observed, and thus his designs be frustrated, he 
turned away from the spot, and hastened towards the house where 
he himself lodged. 

While these events were going on shore, the sufferings of those at 
sea, as may be conceived, without much difHculty, were most poig- 
nant. After the engagement and disastrous fate of the frigate, Will 
Barnsley ordered Tom once more to be brought before him, and 
having now made up his mind to die, endeavored to meet the un- 
limelv fate, to which he imafiined he was being led, with becoming 
fortitude. But to reflect that his Ellen would be left in the power 
of the pirate captain, and forced to a compliance with his desires, 
was almost more than he could endure, and the honest tar's heart 
swelled to nearly bursting. 

When he came before the pirate, he found him surrounded by se- 
veral of the crew, and among others, manacled like himselt, was 
Will Barnsley 's lieutenant, who had betrayed him. 

" Now, Sirrah !" he cried, addressing himself to Tom, " you have 
seen, I should think, the folly of endeavoring to disobey my com- 
mands ; your life is forleited : but as you are a good seaman, I be- 
lieve, 1 will grant it you on your promising that you will not so of- 
fend again. What say you,— will you give the required promise?" 
'' If you promise me not to harm my Ellen," returned Tom, "I 
will give my consent, but not without, for damme, though I may be 
slung to the yard-arm the next moment, if I see any one, be he man 
or devil, lay a finger upon that poor girl, I will level him with the 
deck in an instant !" 

" Well, I am disposed to try you," said Barnsley, "' but beware.— 
The least sign of mutiny, and you swing in a moment ; as for in- 
juring your Ellen, as you call her, my intentions are quite different, 
as it is my design to make her my wife." 

" Your wife ! ' exclaimed Tom, in a voice of indignation. 
" Aye," answered the pirate captain, " and so you will* see in a 
short time. But enough of this for the present. Here is the fellow 
who betrayed us — hear you his reward. — Lash the rascal to the gun, 
and cut the flesh from his bones." 

In a moment the unfortunate man was stripped, and secured to 
l\\e gun, and then two pirates, by the order of the captain, came 
forward, and |)repared to flog himvvith a couple of rope-ends, bound 
round with fine wire. 

A thousand lashes were inflicted on the poor man, which he re- 
ceived without scarcely uttering a groan, and then being released, 
he was tied to the yard-arm, where, shortly after, he expired. 

" Thus will I punish all who would betray me, or disobey my orders ;" 
exclaimed the pirate captain, " and therefore, you may see what you 
have to expect, should you infringe upon our laws. Away to joui* 
duty, and beware." 

Tom was released from his fetters, and walked away. Had it not 



66 GALLANT TOM. 

been for the sake of Ellen, he would quickly have put an end to the 
state of misery in which he was involved, by leaping overboard, 
and preferring a watery grave to any association with such wretches; 
but hope, also, had not entirely forsook him ; and he endeavored to 
keep up his spirits as well as possible — an effort which he accom. 
plished more effectually than could have been anticipated. 

Two days out of three passed quickly away, and the morning of 
the third dawned, and a most terrible morning it was. The thunder 
rolled fiercely through the high vault of Heaven ; the lightning 
blazed with fearful violence ; the wind blew a perfect hurricane ; 
the waves rolled mountains high, and the brig was tossed about like 
a straw. In this manner it continued with unabated fury through- 
out the day, and at night it seemed rather to have increased than 
abated. 

Barnsley, notwithstanding the raging of the tempest, and the im- 
minent danger in which they were placed — it not being expected 
that the vessel could live one moment from another — had been with 
Ellen, and had once more urged his hateful suit, in more ur- 
gent terms than before, when, suddenly, the ship lurched frightfully — 
a terrific crash was heard, and several voices, in tones of despair, 
shouted that she had sprung a leak, and Barnsley rushed hastily 
from the cabin, leaving the door open behind him. Great as were 
the terrors of Ellen, they did not so far overcome her strength as to 
prevent her immediately leaving the cabin, and hastening upon deck, 
where the miscreants, desperate as they were at other times, were 
now pale and trembling at the prospect of death, and every one was 
using such precautions as the time would permit, to rescue them- 
selves from the danger by which they were surrounded. The ship 
was rapidly filling, and completely frantic with despair, Ellen 
screamed aloud, just as her eyes fell upon Tom and Richard, who 
were looking around them with frenzied eyes, as if in search of some 
particular object. In a moment the poor girl was once more enfold- 
ed in the arms of her faithful lover. 

Not an instant, however, had they to exchange a word together : 
the vessel was rapidly filling, and every one was seeking the means 
of escape. There was a simultaneous rush towards the long boat, 
when Tom feeling desperate at the situation in which they were 
placed, clasped Ellen in his arms, and thrusting several ruffians 
aside, he sprang with her over the side of the vessel, and reached 
the boat in safety. He was instantly followed by Richard, and amid 
the yells and execrations of the pirates — several of whom fired at 
them — the boat was unloosed from her hold, and in a moment was 
drifted by the fury of the waves far away from the sinking brig. 
An appalling shriek from the drowning wretches immediately after- 
wards convinced them that all was over, and that the pirates had 
met the fate which their crimes so richly merited. 

All three of the inmates of the boat, were too much engrossed 
and appalled by the horrors of the scene which surrounded them 
to suffer them to speak ; but Tom looked at Ellen with an expres- 
sion which was meant to inspire her with hope, and then directed 



GALI-A\T TOM. 97 

nis attention, with lliot of Richard, to the management of the vessel 
in which they were ; but all management, all control over the boil- 
ing billows, by which they were tossed as it were to the clouds, were 
entirely out of the question, and they were obliged to commit them- 
selves to the mercy of providence, sudering the boat to take its own 
course, and expecting every moment that they must perish. Every 
instant they expected she would capsize, and they were hurried 
along with the most furious precipitation — the efforts of Tom and 
Richard to guide her being all but useless. The fury of the storm in- 
creased, rather than abated ; the roaring of the wind, the heavy peals 
of lhunder<^nd vivid flashes of lightning, at intervals, were terrible to 
behold. They were drenched to the skin, shivering with cold, and in 
addition fast sinking with the great fatigue they had undergone. 
The honest tar raised his eyes towards Heaven, and mentally 
breathed a prayer for their preservation, and then with renewed 
strength occasioned by the imminent peril in which they were 
placed, he applied himself to the guidance of the boat. 

Richard behaved himself with a steady courage and composure, 
which could not have been expected in one so young ; and indeed, 
his only care appeared to be for the safety of Ellen and her lover. 
Yet, to meet death under such circumstances, was awful, particu- 
larly when he thought of the heavy grief it would occasion Mat 
and his wife — a grief from which, he felt confident, they would 
never recover. 

For more than an hour they were tossed about in this manner,, 
every instant being placed as it were upon the very extreme verge 
of eternity, and excluded entirely from hope. It was truly awful to 
look over the fierce raging ocean, and watch the waves with their 
white crests, as they soared to the sky, each one carrying a death 
with it. Wildly the sea-mews screamed ; and the thunder's loud 
voice alone drowned their cries. At length they espied what they 
imagined to be land at no great distance from them, and with clasp- 
ed hands, and expressions of gratitude, they returned their thanks to- 
the Almighty, and prayed that they might be able to reach it with 
safety. 

Aroused to fresh energy by this circumstance, they — that is, Tom 
and Richard — again plied themselves to their task, and they were 
rewarded for their exertion by observing that they rapidly neared. 
what they hoped would prove the goal of their deliverance. As 
they approached it, however, they perceived that it was a rock, and 
thev feared lest their frail bark should be driven so rapidly against it 
as to be upset. 

Fortunately this did not turn out to be the case, and they reached 
the rock in safety. The difficulty then was to reach the summit. — 
They got the boat as gently as they could beneath the rock and then 
Toni sprang from it, and with much difficulty clambered up the 
craggy sides, until he reached a small Jedge, where he could rest. 
Luckily there was a small coil of rope in the boat, which the sailor 
desired Ellen to fasten round her waist, and then to throw the other 
end to him, and commence the attempt to clamber up the rock, he 



98 GALLANT TOM. 

assisting her all that was in his power. This was done, and Ellen, 
again imploring the aid of heaven, did as her lover requested her, 
and succeeded better than could be expected. Tom put forth the 
whole of his strength, which was nearly exhausted, and it was at 
length crowned with success. Ellen was drawn with safety to the 
ledge, and ultimately reached the rock. Richard with all the ac- 
tivity of youth, quickly followed them, and then they all three sank 
upon their knees, and in accents of sincerity returned their thanks 
to Omnipotence for their deliverance from the jaws of death. But 
their joy soon vanished, when they looked around them and beheld 
the wretched place upon which they had been cast. Iti^vas a bar- 
ren rock, completely destitute of any signs of vegetation ; and what 
hope was there fo; them, unless some vessel should pass near into 
which they might be received, no other prospect stared them in the 
face, but a dreadful, lingering death by starvation. 

The storm had now entirely ceased ; but they were perishing with 
cold and wet, and looked upon each other with despairing eyes. 

" Alas ! my poor Ellen," said her lover, " never did your Tom ex- 
pect to see such a day as this. I care not for myself — but to see you 
meet so terrible a fate, tortures my heart to madness." 

" Nay, dear Tom," replied Ellen, " I entreat you not to give way 
to this sorrow ; if it is to be my fate, you cannot avert it ; and we 
should not arraign the will of the Almighty." 

" You are a good, dear girl," said the honest tar, as he kissed her 
pallid cheek, and in spite of his manly efforts to the contrary, could 
not resist the tears that rushed to his eyes ; " you talk so like an 
angel, that even in the midst of this danger, it joys my heart to hear 
you. But it is much easier to talk about it, than to practice it, 
when I see you suffering in this manner." 

" Your anguish only adds to mine, Tom," returned she, " to be- 
hold you suffer, is worse to me than all the other troubles that can 
attend me." 

" 1 know it — I know it, my lass," cried Tom, fervently, " and for 
that reason will I endeavor to do as you desire. Surely that Power 
which keeps watch over us, will not suffer us — or at least you — to 
die this miserable death.'' 

Night rapidly approached, and as darkness began to veil every- 
thing around them, their situation became more appalling, but they 
were so overpowered they soon fell asleep. 

Neither of them awoke until the morning dawned. Tom looked 
eagerly upon his Ellen ; she was pale and ill, but she smiled, and en- 
deavored to conceal what she was suffering. And now it was that 
they felt the gnawing pangs of hunger, and they had not the least 
means of allaying it. They gazed upon each other with looks ex- 
pressive of the utmost horror. 

The day passed away like the previous one, and not the least sign 
of help appeared. At length, completely exhausted, like the previ- 
ous evening, they fell off to repose, and did not awaken until day- 
break. They then found tliemselves so weak, that they could with 
difficulty rise, and CDuld then only stand for a few minutes. 



GALLANT TOM. 99 

" I shall go mad," ejaculated the distracted sailor, as his sweet- 
heart, unable longer to support herself, sank with her head upon his 
bosom. " What shall I do ? She will die. Dick, Dick, for the love 
of Heaven, go in search of v^^ater once more." 

Just at the moment Tom spoke, Richard came running towards 
him with a strength imparted by sudden joy, and shouted aloud : 

" Ah, see ! Behold ! — a sail ! a sail !" 

" A sail, a sail !" reiterated Tom to Richard's joyful cry, and 
stretching his eager eyes in the direction to which Richard pointed. 
"It is true. I clearly behold the white sails which seem to be steer- 
ing in this direction. Heaven grant that it may turn out to be a 
fair craft, and we are saved !" 

He tore the kerchief off his neck, and waved it above his head, 
as a signal of distress, and Richard followed his example, at the same 
time shouting with all his might. 

At length it was evident that the persons on board the ship had 
seen their signal, as they fired a gun, and approached nearer, and 
put off a boat with two or three men in it, which made for the rock, 
to render them the assistance which they wanted. 

It reached the rock and the men called to them to endeavor to de- 
scend it. This was a terribly difficult task, weakened as they were 
by hunger and fatigue ; in fact, Ellen was so much reduced that she 
could scarcely walk ; and Tom and Richard, as may be expected, 
were both in a very little better condition. Tom, hovvever, laid hold 
of her arm, and they began to descend the rock, which, after much 
difficulty they accomplished, and were assisted into the boat by the 
men, who as Tom supposed, turned out to be Englishmen, and the 
vessel was a British merchant ship, homeward bound. Richard hav- 
ing followed them, the boat was pushed off and made for the ship, 
which they reached in safety. 

They were received with much kindness, and upon being briefly 
made acquainted by Tom, of the misfortunes they had met with, the 
captain ordered them to receive every nourishment and assistance 
his vessel afforded, and their distressed condition required. Ellen 
was placed under the care of the captain's wife, who was on board, 
and was a very amiable woman, and paid her every attention ; while 
Tom and Dick were well provided for, and were not long in re- 
covering from the effects of their late suffering. 

The miscreant, Saib, having discovered the retreat of Rosina, 
was determined that he would not lose so favorable an opportunity 
for gratifying his desires by getting possession of her person. He 
said nothing to Fitzosbert, and trusted that in less than a week the 
maiden would be securely in his power. He exulted as these thought* 
crossed his mind — he laughed aloud in triumph. 

" Proud, scornful beauty !" he cried — "yes, thou shalt be mine. — 
Nothing shall save thee. To obtain th'ee, I have run many risks, 
encountered many dangers, but have hitherto been foiled, but this 
time she is all but secure. Her brother is away, and she has no one 
to protect her ; when I get possession of her, 1 shall have the earl 



100 GALLANT TOM. 

more securely in my power, and he will be compelled to resign her 
fortune to me." 

Fitzosbcrt felt uneasy that Saib absented himself so frequently 
from the hall, and he scarcely knew how to act. He was fearful to 
give up the wealth of Rosina to his keeping, and yet he trembled at 
oj)posing the wishes of Saib, for he knew well, f'rom bitter experi- 
ence, the implacable temper of the African, and the revenge, he 
would in all probability seek. 

Saib avoided the hall as much as possible, and when he did go, 
he did not let a sentence drop which could lead Fitzosbert to arrive 
at the knowledge of his intention. 

lie watched constantly near the place in which the unsuspecting 
llosina lived, but for several days she did not present herself. At 
length evil fortune favored him : he met her as she was returning 
from the inn in the evening, and across the wood. She had prolonged 
her stay there beyond her usual length, and, buried in melancholy 
conversation, Imd not noticed its getting so late. As the villain be- 
held her appreach, his exultation was so great that he could not re- 
pres.s a demoniac peal of laughter, and concealing himself behind a 
cluster of trees, directly in the way which he know she must come, 
he prepared to seize her. Rosina passed the spot where Saib was 
concealed, and he let her proceed for a short distance before he of- 
fered to cil)struct her; stealing forth, he approached behind her with 
hasty steps and threw his arms around her. 

Rosina turned, alarmed at such sudden rudeness, and saw the 
eyes of Saib gloating in lustful fondness upon her. 

"Oh, help! mercy! — save me," she shrieked, struggling to es- 
cape. 

" Thou callest in vain," observed Saib, — " there is no one at hand 
to hasten to thy rescue. Come with me, girl — thou must come with 
me, I say." 

Again she screamed, and tried all her power to escape from his 
hold, but her struggles were futile, and overpowered by, the violence 
of her feelings, she lainted. 

Saib then raised her in his arms, and had proceeded some paces, 
when he heard the report of a pistol, felt himself wounded, and 
sunk to the earth, at the same moment that some one snatched the 
insensible form of Rosina from his arms, and a well-known voice 
smote the ears of Saib, exclaiming. 

" Take that, you infernal pirate! and if that aint enough, I have 
another ready for you !" 

Saib looked up with astonishment, rage, and consternation, and 
his feelings may be readily imagined when he beheld Gallant Tom, 
Ellen and Richard, standing before him. 

"Ah," cried Tom, as he hung over the form of Rosina, "shiver 
my timbers, if it ainl my sister Rosina. Why, you fu'st cousin to 
the devil, if I ain't a good mind to send another brace of bullets 
through your u])pcr vvo)ks. Rosina, sister, look up and s|)eak to me. 
It is your brother returned to save you froin a villain, and be your 
future protector." 



GALLANT TOM. 101 

Saib groaned aloud with the intensity of his mental and bodily 
agony, and staring at those who stood before hitn with looks of ter- 
ror and incredulity, he ejaculated, 

" Powers of darkness ! this cannot be real. My enemies, whom 
T thouixlit for evermore secure, returned! But, no, no; it is some 
infernal mockery ! My eyes must have deceived me !" 

" But your eyes have not deceived you. you black shark," return- 
ed Tom. " It is, indeed, those whom you no doubt thought were 
gone to Davy Jones's ere this, and who have returned in the very 
nick of time to your confusion. This shall be the last trick of the 
kind you will play, depend upon it : for if the wound I have given 
you, which appears to be an awkward one, does not do your busi- 
ness, the hangman shall for you ! — Ah, Rosina !" 

At that moment Rosina recovered, and. staring around her, she 
ejaculated, — 

" Ah, that voice ! those well-known tones, where am I ? whither 
have you brought me ?" 

" Rosina — dear sister," cried Tom, in a voice of most indescri- 
bable emotion, "it's no dream ; it's your brother; 'tis Tom, Ellen, 
and Richard who have returned in safety, and ■" 

A loud scream from Rosina, whose eyes were fixed on them alter- 
nately, during the time Tom was thus speaking, interrupted him, and 
giving utterance to his name, she threw herself into his arms, and 
once more became insensible. 

The villain, Saib, lay writhing in agony and rage, and his eyes 
rolled fiercely, first on. Tom and the insensible damsel in his arms, 
and then upon Richard and Ellen. — Curses and imprecations then 
rose to his lips, and he tried in vain to rise from the earth. At that 
moment, Tom was placed in a dilemma, and knew not which way 
to act, for he could not think of leaving the wretch Saib, behind 
him — and how was he to take him away without assistance?" 

While he thus hesitated, pressing Rosina with the most unbound- 
ed affection to his heart, and imprinting warm kisses upon her lips, 
he heard the shouts of men outside, and looking in the direclion from 
whence the sounds seemed to issue, he beheld several of his ship- 
mates approaching that way, and the next moment they came up to 
the spot where the singular group was standing. 

"Hollo!" exclaimed one of the sailors, " what's the meaning of 
this? Tom Clewline here, with a female in his arms, and that 
black lellow wounded and bleeding ?" 

" The fact of the matter, messmates, is," answered Tom, " that 
this poor lass is my sister, and yonder black swab is the same that 
you have heard me talk of, who endeavored to fire the powder ma- 
gazine, and has made several attempts upon the life of this lad. He 
would have borne my sister away, only I happened to steer this 
course, and bore down upon him just in time. I think I have given 
him a settler; but it is no more than he deserves. Just stow the 
lubber in some place of security for the present, messmates, I have 
a precious long account to settle with both him and his rascally 
master. Now then, Ellen, my dear girl, see if you can restore this 



102 GALLANT TOM. 

poor girl ; the sudden surprise has been too much for her. Oh ! I 
could serve that wretch ten times worse than he is already, for be- 
ing the cause of all this trouble, but the time for his receiving his 
reward is not far off." 

Tom gently placed his sister upon the stump of a tree, while El- 
len, with the most affectionate solicitude, procured some water from 
a neighboring brook in a shell, and sprinked the face and bathed the 
temples of the unconscious girl. 

In the meantime, the sailors, in compliance with the request of 
Tom, seized the wounded black, and in spite of his violent struggles, 
and hoarse muttered maledictions, raised him from the earth, and 
having bound his legs and arms with their handkerchiefs, they were 
about to bear him away, when at that moment a tall figure in a 
dark mantle made its appearance before them, in whom Tom and 
Ellen immediately recognized the mysterious stranger who had 
sought shelter at " The Old Commodore," and whose strange con- 
duct, and ambiguity of manner, had since been the cause of so 
much speculation among them. Richard no sooner beheld him than 
he felt a peculiar sensation of unaccountable awe come over him, and 
he gazed at the stranger with the most intense and indescribable in- 
terest. 

" Ah !" cried Tom, " this strange-looking craft here again ? What 
can he want, I should like to know ?" 

" Tom," said the mysterious man, " I am glad to see that thou 
hast returned, and in safety, for now will that vengeance, that retri- 
bution, which has too long slumbered, descend upon the head of the 
guilty." 

The African fixed a look of wild scrutiny upon the mysterious 
form before him, whose face was concealed from observation, and 
his lips quivered fearfully, as he cried — 

" That voice ! that figure ! Mysterious being, who art thou ?" 

" Villain !" answered the stranger, in solemn tones, '" the hour is 
near at hand when thou shalt know. Tremble ! Tom, let him be 
conveyed to a place of proper security, and now listen to me." 

" Take the black rascal to ' The Old Commodore,' until we have 
finally settled what we shall do with him. Now, stranger what is 
your business with me ?" 

Saib was carried forcibly away, amid the shouts and scoffs of the 
sailors, and then the stranger, who seemed to have been contem- 
plating the lad Richard, with much emotion, said, 

" Tom Clewline, as you are called, Providence has made you the 
instrument of bringing about those events which, doubtless, will re- 
store the injured to their rights, and bring shame and punishment 
upon the guilty ; and the hour is not far off when justice shall be 
done to every one, and Fitzosbert and his myrmidon meet with the 
reward due to their crimes. To-morrow, the usurper, little imagin- 
ing what is brooding in the web of fate, gives another masked feit, 
at which I desire you and your friends, but more especially the boy 
Richard, to be present. Do not hesitate to accuse Fitzosbert of the 



GALLANT TOM. 103 

most heinous crimes, nay, of murder ; — I will be at hand, and speed- 
ily bring the result I have in contemplation." 

" Why," returned our hero, " if one may judge by your words, 
you are an honest sort of chap, and therefore, I will do as you re- 
quest me." 

" Enough, then, to-morrow you meet me for justice !" said the 
man ol mystery, and after approaching Richard for a moment, who 
had involuntarily knelt at his feet, he raised his hands above his 
head, as if invoking a blessing upon him, bowed to Tom and the 
others, and immediately retired. 

" Well," said Tom, when he had gone, " he certainly is a very 
funny fellow, and I don't know what to make of him. How devil- 
ish fond he seems to be of Dick, too." 

With these words, Tom linked his arms in those of Rosina and 
Ellen, and, followed by Richard, they departed with all the speed 
they Avere able towards the house of old Mat. 

We have informed the reader of the scene which took place be- 
tween Toby Twitter and Cheeti, and which was overheard and wit- 
nessed by Patty ; we have also described the indignation of the lat- 
ter at the infidelity of that little man for whom she had run such 
risks. Patty was a true woman, with all the foibles and weaknesses 
of her sex; what was more, she possessed all the ardent and sincere 
passions which usually prevail in the female breast, when they fix 
their mind upon any particular object ; consequently, although Patty 
was very indignant at the improper conduct of Toby, and had made 
so many protestations to hate, despise and abandon him, her heart 
throbbed for him with a passion as warm as it had ever done, and 
she sincerely wished lor an opportunity to effect a reconciliation, 
notwithstanding she declared most positively, that "she would not 
have him if every hair of his head was hung with diamonds." 

" The little brute," she soliloquized, " the — the ugly little monster ; 
— to go to desert me for a black woman. Oh, never let him come 
near me; don't let him venture to show his nasty, ugly phizimiogo- 
my to me, or I'll commit manslaughter upon him. or my name is not 
Patty !" 

With this laudable resolution Patty walked out of the house, and, 
singular enough, took the very way in which it was more likely than 
any other, that she should meet the object of her resentment. 

Now be it understood, that whatever failings Toby Twitter might 
possess, should be attributed more to the head than the heart ; and 
although he had in a moment of weakness yielded to the persuasions 
of his sable inamorata, in his serious moments he repented of the 
promise he had given, and would gladly have retracted it, could he 
have been certain that when he had done so, he should be able to 
effect a reconciliation with Patty. 

" How shall I act," he ruminated, "I am divided between love 
and gratitude ; black as she is, I must confess that I love this little 
Cheeti, and yet gratitude and honor deinand that I should forget her, 
and place Patty on the throne of my heart. I am in a quandary-^ 
I am at a loss — let me see — black is a prood standing color, and — " 



104 GALLANT TOM. 

"Is it, you wretch," said a voice close to his ear, "oh, you vile 
man — you base deceiver ?" 

He turned round and beheld Patty by his side, who seemed ready 
to bestow summary punishment on him for his infidelity. 

" Now, now, Patty," interposed Toby, in a mild, humble tone, 
'"' only hear me." 

"I \ton't hear you, nor listen to you," cried Patty ; " to go for to 
desert me for that nasty, ugly, black girl." 

" Why," observed Toby, " I must admit, Patty, that that was a 
black piece of business ; but then, Cheeti has got money, and you 
have none, and, therefore, you could not expect that such a thing 
would have its effect upon a gentleman possessed of a hindependent 
fortin of eight pounds, thirteen shillings, and a penny ha'pny yearly 
per anivvum. 1 am willing, however, to make a sacrifice — and a 
great one it is — I will discard Cheeti, and take to my jewel of ines- 
timable price again." 

" I'll not have you ! You're a-a-a wretch — a-a brute — a can 
nibal." 

" Blood of the Twitters ! She calls me a cannibal. Hows'ever, 
Patty, I don't know that you are much out there, after all, for such 
a girl as you is enough to make any man savage. Besides, I had 
good reasons for my conduct, for as you took to wearing the breeches 
before marriage, what could I expect you to do afterwards. So, 
you won't have me ?" 

" No, I will not." 

" Then," said Toby, hitting the crown of his hat, with much mock 
dignity, '• then I pity your want of taste, and wish you a very good 
day." 

As he thus spoke, he prepared to leave her, upon which, Patty 
thinking she had gone too far, said aside to herself, — 

" I am afraid he is serious, and must alter my tone. " Toby," she 
added, in one of her kindest and most insinuating tones, — 

" Well," he answered, with assumed fierceness. 

"Toby, could you go to leave your poor, faithful Patty in this 
manner ?" 

" Yes ! didn't you refuse me, and call me brute, monster, can- 
nibal ?" 

" But I was in a passion, then, and we women often say many 
things that we do not mean. Now, my dear, darling, good-looking 
Toby." 

"Gammon," said he, as she placed her arm in a coaxing manner 
round his neck, " I suppose these are some of the silly things that 
you do not mean ?" 

" No, indeed." 

" Then you are serious." 

" Positively." 

" And you'll never upbraid me after we are married ?" 

" Never !" 

" Nor want to wear the breeches ?" 

" Certainly not." 



GALLANT TOM. 105 

" Tlicn come to my arms, my duck of diamonds ; — these female 
ani^fls are the very devil !" 

They embraced fervently, and thus ended the quarrel of Toby 
Twitter, and his faithful Patty. 

We need not inform the reader that the vessel which had afford- 
ed Tom, Ellen, and Richard a shelter, after the danger and suffering^ 
to which they had been exposed, brought them home in safety, and 
tke kindness of the captain and all the crew towards them, excited 
their utmost gratitude. But, how shall we describe the meeting which 
took place between them and Mat and his wife, on their unexpected 
and sudden restoration to them? Language must fail; and, there- 
fore, we leave the task to the conjecture of the reader. Mat ap- 
peared little surprised at the behavior of the mysterious stranger ; 
and when he heard what he had said, and the promise Tom had 
made him, the old man exclaimed, while an expression of satisfac- 
tion overspread his venerable countenance, 

" Yes, my children, by all means obey the wishes of this singular 
being ; and something persuades me, that not only is the hour of re- 
tribution at hand, but that to-morrow will reveal certain circum- 
stances that will, doubtless, fill you all with the greatest astonish- 
ment." 

" Hollo," said Tom, " what's in the wind, now ? Why, Mat, any 
one would suppose that you were on intimate terms with this 
strange craft, and were possessed of his secrets." 

" To-morrow, as I before said," returned Mat, " will disclose 
everything. Till then, we will drop the subject." 

Here for the present the matter ended, although every one pre- 
sent thought it was evident that he knew more than he thought 
proper to reveal, and their impatience for the arrival of the next day 
increased. 

The miscreant Saib, was confined in an out-house which adjoined 
the tavern, and his wounds having been properly dressed, he some- 
what revived, although the medical man who attended him stated 
that the wound he had received was mortal. Fearful that he would 
sink under his wound before the following day, and that they w^ould 
thus be deprived of the principal witness of the guilt of Fitzosbert, 
Mat and Tom several times visited him during the night, hoping to 
he able to elicit from him a confession of his crimes, and of "the 
dark deeds, in the perpetration of which it was suspected he had 
been conected with the earl. 

Several times during the night he was delirious, and in those mo- 
ments the wild ravings to which he gave utterance left them very 
little room to doubt the truth of their surmises. Towards mornino- 
he became more calm, and listened to their solicitations without 
evincing any impatience ; and, at last, desiring he might be removed 
into the house, he promised to confess all. His wishes were com- 
plied with, and then, in a faint voice, spoke as follows : 



106 GALLANT TOM. 

CHAPTER V. 

CONFESSION OF SAIB. 

*' Feeling the hand of death upon me, and stung with remorse and 
a guilty conscience, I wish to make all the atonement I can, by ac- 
knowleciging the heinous crimes of which I have been guilty, and 
bringing retribution on the head of liim, who, by tempting offers of 
lucre, first led me into villany and bloodshed. 

" Lionel Earl of Fitzosbert, the elder brother of the present 
usurper, was my master, originally having purchased me from slavery 
in Africa, and brought me to England, where he educated me, and 
showed me all the indulgence that a master could show his servant. 
Alas ! how did I repay him for his kindness ? The sequel will too 
plainly show. My time is short, and my strength is almost exhausted ; 
therefore I must run over my narrative of blood as quickly as possible. 

" Soon after the birth of a son, the Countess Fitzosbert died, and 
the earl became quite an altered man, abandoning that life of retire- 
ment in which he had before resided, and mixing with the political 
world, at the time when it was beset by the most violent storms, in 
which he became implicated. Towards his brother, who was his 
junior by about two or three years, he behaved with the utmost affec- 
tion and liberality, resigning to him a large portion of his property be- 
queathed to him by his late father, and insisting upon his continuing 
to reside with him, but, notwithstanding this, soon after I came to 
live in England, I could perceive that he viewed the earl with eyes 
of envy and hatred, and it was not long ere I discovered that my 
surmises were just. 

" Robert Fitzosbert soon began to take particular notice of me, 
and took every opportunity of conciliating my friendship, by mak- 
ing me presents, and many other advances to my favor. Although I 
hated and despised him in my heart, his gold was tempting, for I was 
naturally covetous, and by degrees he so completely won upon me, 
as to venture to confide to me his thoughts and wishes. It was then 
I discovered that his ambition was to become the possessor of the 
title and estates of his brother, and that he could see no other way 
of arriving at the gratification of his desires, than by the death of 
Lionel and his infant son Julian. So completely had he lured me 
to his diabolical purposes by his accursed gold, that I was induced 
to listen to his proposals, and ultimately to become the panderer to 
his wishes. The assassination of the earl and his son was agreed 
upon, and an opportunity soon presented itself to put our infernal 
scheme into execution. 

" The earl, )iavinf^ been accused of some political offense, deemed 
it prudent to quit his mansion for some time, and retire to the I^le 
of Wight. I did not accompany him, but it was agreed that I 
sliouid follow after bim, and meet him at a certain part of the coast. 
1 did so. We got into a post-chaise to go to the place he had 
fixed on for his residence, and he had his child with him. 



GALLANT TOM. 107 

" I had managed my murderous plot ; — I had agreed with three 
ruffians (whom 1 had become acquainted with onboard of the vessel 
which brought lue to EngUimJ) to attack us at a certain place, and 
they did as 1 desired them. The unfortunate earl, with the boy in 
his arms, was dragged out of the vehicle, and, with my own hands, 
1 stabbed him in various parts of the body, and intiicted what ^ 
thought to be a deadly wound on the boy. After this we dividea 
what money the earl liad upon his person, equally amongst us, and 
drove the chaise into the sea, but l^ft the bodies where we had 
murdered them, being alarmed by some persons who, we thought, 
were approaching the spot. I parted with the ruffians and have never 
seen them since. Soon after this I returned home, and as it was 
not known there whither I had been to, suspicion never lighted upon 
me. In the course of a few weeks all inquiries after the earl and 
his son having proved unsuccessful, his brother, who afTected the 
most violent grief, took to himself the titles and estates of Fitzosbert, 
which he has retained ever since. This is the truth, as I hope for 
mercy from that Almighty Judge in the presence of whom 1 shall 
shortly stand." 

"But why was your hatred so excited against Richard?" de- 
manded Tom, " and why did you so often seek his life?" 

" Because, ' answered llie black, "in him I discovered the son of 
the late earl Fitzosbert, whom I had imagined I had murdered, and 
*.he rightful heir to th.e earldom and property of Fitzosbert." 

"Ay !" exclaimed Tom, in a voice of astonishment, " splice my tim- 
bers ! here's a discovery ! But you're not spinning a yarn, are you ? 
— Oh, dannne, if 1 didn't think that young Dick was born to be 
a great man !" 

iSaib repeated his assertions, and then becoming faint, they no 
longer thought proper to torture him with questions. In the course 
of the night the unhappy wretch rallied, and he became not only 
more couiposed, but liis pain seemed to be greatly alleviated. All 
chance of his recovery, however, was evidently at an end, and they 
were at times fearful that he would not survive until the follovving 
day, and thus frustrate a design they had in contemplation, by which 
the utter defeat of the villain Fitzosbert would be certain to be 
accomplished, and the innocent have ample justice done to them, 
and be restored to their rights. 

In the meantime, the guilty Fitzosbert had been informed of the 
attempt which 8aib had made upon the life of Richard, and the 
consequences that had followed, and his horror and consternatioa 
were excessive. Should Saib in a moment of weakness betray the 
dark secret they had for so many years succeeded in concealing, 
ignominy and destruction would be his inevitable fate. In a state 
of distraction he sent d(jwn a peremptory order to Mat to deliver up 
to him his servant, on pain of future proceedings ; and the old tar 
sent back an equally peremptory answer, stating that he should do 
no such thing ; and that perhaps, ere many hours were over his 
(the earl's) head, he might have reason to think that he did not care 
even the cracking of a biscuit about him or his boasted power. To 



108 GALLANT TOM. 

this message Tom added another of the same description and bade 
the earl prepare to give a little explanation upon certain matters, 
which he might consider anything but agreeable. 

The rage and consternation of Fitzosbert, when his servants re- 
turned to the Hall, with these answers, were extreme ; — he stamp- 
ed and raved with passion, and it was with the utmost difficulty he 
could contain himself. 

"Ah !" lie cricfi, raising his clenched fist to his burning forehead, 
" my worst fears are but confirmed ; the dastard knave Saib has 
disclosed all, and my crimes are made known to my enemies." 

That night he passed in a wretched state of mind; regretted 
that he had set the following day apart for a second great fete, as 
his spirit would by no means be in unison with the festivities that 
would be going forward. He would have put it off; but then again 
he was fearful that by so doing he would be the cause of exciting 
some suspicions that might ultimately be the means of bringing 
about the result he so much dreaded ; he therefore resolved that the 
fete should take place, and that he would endeavor by every means 
in his power to appear unusually gay on that occasion. 

There was, at a very early hour, a brilliant assemblage, and the 
mirth and gayety that prevailed around appeared to be universal. 
Yet, in spite of his endeavors, and the many deep libations he took, 
did the uneasiness of the earl increase, and he frequently arose from 
the festive board, and walked to some obscure part of the saloon, 
so that he might give free indulgence to the thoughts and feelings 
that tortured him. It was upon one of these occasions that he 
heard his name pronounced in accents he could never forget, and 
raising his head, he was horror-struck at once more beholding the 
tall and awful figure of the domino. He started, and trembled in 
every limb, while his countenance turned pale, and he was unable to 
give utterance to a word. The domino stood for a second or two, 
and his eyes, through the black mask which he wore, sparkled fierce- 
ly upon Fitzosbert, while in the same awful and sepulchral accent 
in which he had before addressed him, the former said : 

"Jiobert Fitzosbert, thy titne is nearly come; — the injured are at 
hand to seek for justice ; — tremble!" 

"Avaunt ! avaunt !" lie cried, in frantic tones : " I cannot — dare not 
gaze upon you ! My blood freezes in my veins as I look upon thee ! 
— Away, fiend — spectre, avaunt !" 

As he thus spoke, the domino raised his mask, and again the 
guilty Fitzosbert gazed upon features that smote his soul with hor- 
ror. 

He staggered back to the table at which he had previously been 
seated, and covered his face with his hands in a state of agitation 
we are at a loss to portray. 

In the meantime the supposed phantom vanished amongst the 
numerous guests. — Fitzosbert was soon aroused by receiving a sa- 
lute from a heavy hand upon the shoulder, and raising his head, his 
bewilderment and surprise were excessive when he beheld Gallant 
Tom at his elbow. 



GALLANT TOM. 109 

"Ah!" he cried, starting from his seat, "you here ? — what means 
this intrusion ?" 

"Oh, you will know all presently," replied Tom, with the utmost 
coldness; "I thought you might not think my visit very agreeable, 
but I have called to pay my respects to you, and to thank you foi 
the kind service you and your sable dog did me, my Ellen, and 
young Dick, by getting us a birth on board the " Nanct/,'" under 
that highly respectable individual, Will Barnsley. But I will intro- 
duce you to one or two more of your old acquaintances whom you 
did not expect to see." 

Thus speaking, Tom motioned to three female forms that stooc^ 
close by, and immediately removing their masks, Rosina, Patty 
and Ellen stood before the wonder struck and guilty Fitzosbert. 

" Damnation !" he cried, starting back, — " Rosina; What demons 
arc at work to torture me ?" , 

" You shall see," replied Tom, and waving his hand, in a moment, 
Saib, dying, was led in by Mat and two or three others and con- 
fronted his horror-struck master. 

" What means this ?" demanded Fitzosbert, in a trembling voice; 
" Saib here.-'' 

" The meaning of it is this," returned Tom ; " Saib has again been 
attempting the liie of Richard, and has met the reward he merited. 
Since this he has become penitent and confessed all his crimes and 
yours too, and a nice lot they are. 

" Ah, wretch !" said Fitzosbert, his eyes glancing with a look of 
the most unutterable resentment upon Saib. 

" The black man's cai'eer is nearly ended, and the implacable spirit 
he once possessed is broken ;" said the African, faintly, "but on you, 
Fitzosbert, who first incited me to crime, and made me the wretch 
that 1 now am — may ray most bitter, my dying curse descend, — draw 
around," he continued, looking at the guests and motioning to th.em, 
— " draw around, and listen to the tale of horror I have to unfold." 

The guests did as he desired them, in the utmost amazement, and 
then Saib repeated that confession with which the reader has been 
made acquainted. 

Daring this recital the rage of Fitzosbert knew no bounds, and he 
was with the utmost difficulty, prevented from rushing upon the expir- 
ing black. Immediately after the latter had come to the termination 
of the guilty confession he gave one dreadful groan of agony and 
sunk a corpse upon the floor. 

'• Oh, believe him not,"cried Fitzosbert, " the story he has told you 
is a fabrication from beginning to end." 

" Villain ! thou liest," replied a loud voice, and immediately the 
tnvsterious stranger appeared, leading in Richard by the hand ; — 
" the substance of that unhappy wretch's narrative is true, and thou 
knowest it ; — but Providence hath preserved both thy much injured 
brother and his son ; behold to thy confusion, they both stand before 
thee." 

The domino threw off his disguise, and Lionel Earl Fitzosbert, and 



110 GALLANT TOM 

his son Julian, hitherto known as Richard, stood before his guilty, 
conscience striciten brother, and the astonished guests. 

" My son ; — my own dear boy ;" ejaculated the earl in a voice of the 
most uncontrollable emotion, and embracing Julian with the most 
delirious transport. 

" Father," replied the lad, " and have I, then, one on whom I caB 
bestow that endearing title ?"' 

" Tear them asunder ; — it is horror to my eyes ," cried Fitzosbert 
his lips livid, and every limb palsied with terror ; "do not let them 
embrace. Fools, why do you hesitate ? — Nay, stand off; — do not dare 
approach them. Do you not see he is not of this world. ? — Look, 
how the thick clotted blood stains his bosom : — Ah, — he is still there. 
He mocks my anguish.— Retribution — retribution he demands ? — 
There, do you not hear him ? — He approaches me ! do not let him 
grasp me!— will no one aid me against my ghastly foe ? — Off— off, 
dread phantom of my murdered brother ! — I do not acknowledge my 
guilt — but I cannot meet thy reproachful gaze ! — Oh, horror!" 

Overcome by his feelings, he sunk into the arms of two of the 
guests who were standing by. Suddenly his countenance became 
frightfully distorted, and he appeared to be struggling* for breath. 
He attempted to speak, and the next moment the blood gushed from 
his eyes, nose and mouth ; he had ruptured a blood-vessel, and soon 
died. 

CONCLUSION. 

LionelEarl Fitzosbert was, of course, reinstated in his rights that 
had been so long usurped by his guilty and unnatural brother, whom 
he interred with all the pomp he was entitled to by his rank, and 
with him, he buried all recollection of the wrong he had done him. 

The restoration of the Earl to his rights was hailed with much de- 
light by all who lived in the neighborhood, and many gentlemen who 
had formerly had the honor to enjoy his friendship, flocked to congrat- 
ulate him on his fortunate escape from death, and the most miracu- 
lous manner in which his son had been restored to him. Richard 
felt none of that extravagant joy which might have been expected 
at his sudden elevation to rank and fortune, neither did he forget his 
former benefactors, (on whom the earl fixed a handsome annuity,) 
and he never called Ellen by any other title than his "pretty Coz." 

Gallant Tom, as he still liked to be called, and his sister, Rosina, 
having now fully established their consanguinity, took a handsome 
house near that of the Earl Fitzosbert, with whom they were on 
terms of the most ardent friendship. 

In about two months subsequent to the events we have been nar- 
rating, Tom, whom no change of fortune could alter, led his lovely 
Ellen to church, and fulfilled the vows he had so long plighted to her. 
A joyful day was that in Plymouth ; there was nothing but cheerful 
faces to be seen : and Tom invited the whole of his old shipmates to 
partake of his hospitality, and the festivities got up, on that auspicious 
occasion. 

We have little more to add : Tom rose to great eminence m the 



GALLANT TOM. Ill 

navy, and was much beloved as an officer as he had been respect- 
ed as a private man. He lived to see a numerous family around 
him, all inheriting their parents' virtues ; — and it is not many years 
since he was called up aloft. 

The Earl Fitzosbert lived to a good old age, esteemed by every 
body, and was gratified by beholding his son nobly earn the laurels 
which afterwards bedecked his heroic brow. His life was full of 
daring adventures, worthy to be celebrated in romance. These 
adventures may hereafter serve us with materials for a sequel. 

Rosina was united to a gentleman every way worthy of her love, 
and their days were passed in that felicity, which cannot fail to be 
the reward, when affection and virtue are combined. 



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